Why you shouldn't mess with time turners
by xzoexangelx
Summary: Set after the events of cursed child. Draco gives Hermione the time turner and, in an attempt to destroy it, their minds get sent back to their eleven year old selves. Can they do it all again? Without changing the future? Currently being translated into Chinese! helusen. lofter. com/post/ 1fe4e4e4 12be113fe (remove the spaces)
1. Chapter 1

**Thank you for reading my story!**

 **Re editing chapters :D**

 **Thank you to my Beta Paz for sorting me out ;D**

* * *

It had been some of the most difficult days in Hermione's career, as the Minister of Magic. Stressed didn't seem to be an appropriate word to describe her mental state - haggard or harassed might be better. Even a few days later, it was still difficult to process the almost catastrophic events; caused by the two Slytherin boys.

Quick, sharp footsteps took her across the main lobby to the lifts. Witches and wizards scurried out of her way, sending apprehensive looks in her direction. They were pointedly ignored. Stepping into the lift she adjusted her robes, eyes staring at a fixed point ahead. Hand reaching out swiftly to grab the handle closest and roughly pushing the button for her department with the other. Her stomach dropped as the lift sped upwards without warning.

"Level one, Minister of Magic's office. Good morning, Minister". The disembodied, feminine voice echoed around the entranceway.

Making her way across the hall - nodding to a few people as she went - Hermione headed to her office. A dark, wooden door with the golden words 'Minister of Magic' gracefully looped on its front. They flashed with recognition, and the door swung inwards.

Pausing at the entrance, Hermione cautiously entered the room, stepping over objects as she went.

It was a mess. Books still scattered across the floor. Her desk and chair were over-turned, items strewn everywhere. Inhaling deeply, the smell of burning hit the back of her throat, coming from somewhere in the room presumably.

She let out a groan of frustration. Most likely some of her books would be irreplaceably damaged, not to mention the bookcase. It took some serious magic to make that trap, the spell damage alone could take weeks to remove.

"Yes," came a low drawling voice from the corner of the office, "I love what they've done with the place too".

A slight turn of her head and the form of Draco Malfoy came into view. Dressed in his usual dark formal robes, he was slouched against a bookshelf. Hands in his pockets, he too looked a little less composed than usual.

"Granger," he said, inclining his head in acknowledgement.

Try as she might, Hermione couldn't hide the slight smile on her lips. "That's Minister Granger to you, Malfoy." She spoke in a light hearted manner, "but Hermione works just as well".

"In that case Minister, I must insist on Draco." Pushing himself from the shelf, he lazily flicked his wand over the room. The desk and chair righted itself and the scattered items skipped across the room, slotting themselves into their original homes. The bookshelf however, was woefully unmoved. A few books gave a halfhearted little wiggle before flopping down pathetically.

Draco shrugged. "Worth a try," he said apologetically.

"Thank you…Draco." That earned a grin from him, "I'm afraid there is not much you'd be able to do with that," inclining her head towards the ruined shelves and their former occupants. "It was rather heavily charmed." Sighing wistfully, she gazed at the mess. "Took me ages."

Shaking her head and letting out a laugh, Hermione turned back towards Draco and perched on the edge of her (now upright) desk. There was a small pause between them before she spoke up again. "What can I do you for then Draco?"

He was watching her with a slightly bemused look. "Do me for?" He raised an eyebrow as a slight grin quirked his lips.

"It's a muggle joke," she quipped, her hand waving dismissively. , "A funny figure of speech."

"Right," came the chuckled response. "And there was me getting my hopes up." He continued to grin at her, earning an eye roll.

"I assume you didn't come here just to help me clean up my office." Her face took a more serious expression. "Does this have something to do with the last few days?"

Taking a deep breath, Draco reached into his pocket. Slowly, he moved next to her and, with a soft 'plink' he placed something on the desk.

"I think…it's probably for the best if I don't keep this." He was watching her face warily.

There it was, sitting on her desk. Glinting softly in the light and looking oh so innocent, was the last working Time-Turner.

Hermione felt all the stress of the past couple of days hit her again. She began feeling hot, dizzy and the ability to breathe became patchy. "You…You're giving it to me?" She stammered, disbelief plastered across her face.

Oh Merlin, she couldn't take the responsibility again! This whole mess would have been prevented if she hadn't tried to be clever with the last one! "I shouldn't have this, look at what happ…"

Draco cut across her speech with a sharp wave of his hand. "There is no one else I can trust with this. Yes, you made a mistake before. However," he drew himself up and sneered down at her in a most familiar expression, "I expect you to do better this time".

She felt herself bristle under his gaze. Do better? Do better, indeed! Squaring her shoulders and standing as tall as her frame would allow, she mustered as much confidence in her tone before answering. "Challenge accepted, Draco".

He gave her a curt nod. She noted with some amusement how he seemed to be relieved to get rid of the thing. Pushing on her hands slightly, she turned and knelt in front of the desk. Eyes now level with the Time-Turner, she passed her wand over the device. It registered as the real thing, so at least Malfoy wasn't trying to trick her.

The question now, was what to do with it.

She couldn't and wouldn't keep it in the same trap as last time. Too many people had that information now, not to mention the two schoolboys who broke through her spells. She let out a huff of annoyance at that thought. Dumbledore, Hogwarts and Gringotts came to mind. Their defences could be broken; as evidenced by Harry, Ron and her own exploits. Spells could be countered, the locks unpicked and people coerced.

If she wanted it to stay out of the wrong hands, there was really only one option…

* * *

Without warning Hermione leapt across the room, her sudden and frantic movement startled Draco and he jumped back into the bookcase. The residual spells lingering on it sent an uncomfortable tingling through his body, not unlike static shock. Coughing smartly and shaking out the front of his robes he checked out of the corner of his eye to see if Hermione had noticed his action. From her single-minded movement he deduced that she had all but forgotten that he was even there.

He let out a small sigh of relief - couldn't have her telling Potter - that he was being jumpy. He'd had enough of the ferret jokes in fourth year. He pulled away from the wooden shelves, when a slight tug on the back of his robes caused him to pause. Glancing back, he let out a little yelp and hastily drew his wand.

The shelf was sticking to him! It stretched out from the wall like slime. Other levels also began reaching out, wood warping as it lazily tried to grab him. Violently slashing his wand in a downward movement - in an attempt at a slicing spell - had no effect and made the situation worse. At the point the spell connected, the shelf burst, splurging more of the wooden slime up his back and onto his arms. The tugging increased, as the bookcase began to drag him backwards. Quickly realising that any magic used would only escalate things, Draco slashed open the front of his robes before slithering from the outer coat in a rather undignified scramble.

He froze, for a moment, watching in almost horror as the shelf 'ate' his robes. It was slow and almost agonising as, finally, the last sleeve vanished and the bookcase returned to its former less threatening state.

If this is what it is like once it had been broken, it must have been even more terrifying at full power! A strong sense of pride towards his son filled him, followed by an unfamiliar sense of fear for the witch behind him.

Once again straightening out his clothes, now minus his outer robe, and thoroughly checking for other 'traps', Draco turned back to watching the aforementioned witch. A strange sight greeted him. Without him noticing, she had built up a sort of potions lab. Bits of twisting glass and strange metal instruments, that moved and made odd noises like 'ping' or 'thonk', covered her desk. Multi-coloured puffs of smoke came from the end of a particularly spiralled piece of glass.

As bewildering as this all was, the oddest sight was Hermione herself. She had donned a dark dragon hide apron, with matching full length gloves and the oddest headset he had ever seen. It was rather like a keepers helmet; dark leather, straps under the chin, extra padding around the sensitive areas of the skull.

The goggles however were a new addition. Round glass lenses - which could've rivalled Trelawney's in thickness - were edged by a brass rim and attached to the helmet with wide leather straps, hiding most of her face. Metal instruments with small different coloured lenses were attached to the rim of the goggles, by spindly wires that moved them up and down over her right eye in jerky clockwork movements. The left eye appeared to have a backwards telescope on it, that was extended fully and trained on the Time-Turner, it's little lens rotating and blinking. Her hair stuck out from under this contraption and appeared to be trying to escape the tightly bound helmet.

Her wand moved frantically over the Time-Turner, golden dust flowing and twisting through its components. Occasionally she would flick her wand at a glass or metal instrument, sending a small batch of dust into it. She paused as she watched each reaction, before she cycled back to muttering under her breath whilst scrutinising the device.

Standing by and watching her, Draco was both irritated and relieved that she had not noticed her bookshelf trying to eat him. Now that really would have been an embarrassing story for Pott…Harry to hear. Not to mention he'd not be able to look the weasel in the eye for months!

Seemingly without noticing, he had moved closer to the desk, eyes following the flow of golden dust as it spun and twisted in hypnotic movements. Static fizzed through his hair, and his usual slicked back ponytail began to separate and frizz. Tiny, almost imperceptible zigzags of electricity began to zip across his body, as he began swaying slightly following the rhythm of the dust. As if he was moving through thick treacle, Draco edged closer. His smart shoes catching on the sides of books as he swayed towards the spinning light. Arm rising, he reached forward sluggishly. The residual magic on him began to crack and spark enthusiastically.

* * *

The Time-Turner spun in the air slowly; and ever so carefully Hermione twisted her wand and made a slight jerking movement. Flakes of gold began to peel and separate from the outer casing, floating gently through the air until they dissipated like smoke.

Hermione could feel the elation race through her body. She had done it! The balancing was tricky, but with a little time she could safely destroy the Turner. This way would be completely safe and leave no residue, so another time turner could never be made, at least not by using this one as a base.

Sweat began to drip down her body as the air heated up, making wearing the helmet almost unbearable. The outer ring was completely dissolved; the inner ring was almost gone too. Once she got to the glass timer itself, Hermione braced herself. The pressure increased and she began to shake with the effort. Something moved in her peripheral vision but she ignored it, focusing entirely on the tiny splitting hourglass before her. The glass started peeling off, dissolving as it went, and the time dust within began to burn hot, giving off a blinding white light.

Hermione averted her gaze, eyes suddenly focusing on Draco. A horrified dread overcame her, she had forgotten he was even here! His eyes were glazed over, arm outstretched and leaning over the desk towards the time dust.

"DRACO NOOOOO!" The stream tore from her throat as her sweaty hands gripped her wand tighter. "STOP! DRACO!"

Almost in slow motion, she watched as his head turned towards her in a bleary and confused manner. His body however, did not stop.

The moment Draco's fingers brushed the dust there was a pause, like the whole world froze. The complete and absolute absence of sound and movement was terrifying. She couldn't breath, and her eardrums ached with the pressure.

The sort of explosion that came next could only be described as hot and compressing. Similar to appariting, only a thousand times worse. Lights and colours overwhelmed her senses, as her atoms were torn apart and violently flung in all directions. If she had still had her lungs it would have gone hoarse from screaming.

Then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Thank you to my Beta Paz!**

* * *

It took a long time for the feeling to come back to Hermione's body. It was a while before she noticed that she was still, indeed, breathing. Not willing to risk opening her eyes yet, Hermione began mentally checking her body; feet, legs, hips, stomach, torso, arms, hands and head all still attached where they should be. Bile rose in her throat and she forcibly swallowed it down, fighting to remain calm.

Something was wrong, something was really wrong, but she was too dizzy and it didn't make sense. How did she become like this? Was that a spell backfire? It was unlike anything she had ever felt or read about. Another wave of nausea hit her and, unable to hold it back any longer, she promptly vomited over the side of her bed.

The energy it took to move was draining. She laid there for at least an hour whilst blinking slowly, gazing at the puddle of sick on her bedroom floor, nose wrinkling in disgust. Moving languidly, she pulled her arm out from under her body and attempted to push herself upright.

The room swum in and out of focus, but a little voice at the back of her head recognised it as her old bedroom.

Her old bedroom at her parent's house.

Her old bedroom at her parent's house, that she had when she was eleven.

A strangled yell echoed around the space as she flailed her arms in an uncoordinated attempt to get away. This only led to her landing in a pile on the floor, narrowly avoiding the sick puddle, legs tangled in the duvet.

She was eleven. Her body was eleven! She backed up against the wall in a sort of backwards crab crawl, dragging the duvet with her. Breath coming in gasps, her eyes darted over the room. Her brand new school trunk was neatly placed in the corner. Stacks of magic books lay all over the room, many with little post it notes sticking out from between the pages. Her new school robes, without the red Gryffindor trim, were sitting in front of the trunk ready for packing. Her eyes flew to her wand, sitting in its box, waiting for her. Without thinking she flew towards it, fingers scrambling as she tore it from the box. It warm presence immediately calmed her, offering a reassuring feeling that everything would be all right.

And this was the way her mother found her, hours later, slumped against her school trunk, tightly gripping her wand.

After being woken up and bathed, Hermione's parents helped her get ready for her 'first day' at school. They had woken her up extra early, as they did all those years ago, so she could get to the train with plenty of time to spare. After playing off her sleeping on the floor and throwing up as an extreme case of nerves, Hermione tried to act as normal as she could. If she was truly back in time, on her first day of Hogwarts, then she had to be very careful! Just as before, with Scorpius and Albus, any little thing she changed could affect the future. The thought made her feel ill again, but she quashed it and tried to focus on a solution.

She could go to Dumbledore…But then that might change the way he handles the past…Or future? Letting out a sigh, she tried to remember what she had spoken about with her parents on their way to Kings Cross station. Suppressing the nerves and panic, Hermione continued to talk about the spells she would like to learn, classes she was looking forward too and house she would hope to be sorted into.

Eventually they pulled into the car park and she ran off and got the trolley, as she did before, skipping on her way. Odd-looking luggage loaded, they made their way to platforms nine and ten. Where, after an encouraging smile from her parents, Hermione led the way through the wall between the two platforms.

Steam filled her vision. It whirled around her, twisting the shapes and colours of everything. Moving forward she headed towards the gleaming red train. The sight was truly beautiful. For a moment overwhelming feelings of awe and excitement swelled within her body, almost bringing tears to her eyes. It was how she had felt the first time seeing the Hogwarts Express, the exact same feelings. Very odd, definitely something to investigate later. For the time being however, she had to continue on as normal until she got to Hogwarts. That was as far as she had gotten with the plan; act normal, get to Hogwarts, hit the library.

There wouldn't be much she could do until tomorrow, the welcome feast continued on until quite late if she remembered right, which she did. Parents in tow, she headed towards the student compartments and kept her eyes peeled for Neville. She was in his compartment the first train journey, she remembered looking for Trevor the toad. This of course led to her first meeting with Harry and Ron.

A sigh left her lips. She wouldn't be friends with them until after Halloween. The memory of her first two months at Hogwarts were extremely lonely.

"Is something the matter, sweetie?" Her mother was peering down at her with a concerned expression. "I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends, don't you worry!" She said with a smile, stroking Hermione's hair.

"That obvious?" Hermione smiled sadly at her parents. It always amazed her how her mother knew what was on her mind. "I'm going to be so lonely without you both…I just," a sniffle, "I'm going to miss you".

Arms squeezed her tight, as she sniffed again. "You can come home anytime Hon," came the voice of her father through the tangle of arms. "You can do anything you set your clever little mind to Hermione, just you wait and see. Give it time and you won't even think about us boring ol' moogles!" The laughter in her father's voice got her giggling.

"Daaaaad! It's Muggles!"

With a few more hugs for good measure and some words of encouragement from her mother, Hermione boarded the train, trunk in tow.

It was then she remembered with a jolt, that she wasn't eleven.

That this wasn't her first ride on the train.

That she was a grown witch, with a family and a job. The Minister of Magic to be precise.

For a moment, she had acted exactly like her eleven year old self would have. It wasn't like she forgot who she was, just that it was pushed aside. Just like the swell of emotion she felt upon seeing the train. Maybe some sort of emotional memory?

Someone barged past, their voices muttering about first years clogging the train. Bringing her back to reality, Hermione quickly moved past the compartments. If she remembered correctly - and she always remembered correctly - she shared with Neville and some older students on her first trip. Eyes peeled for the chubby boy she set about peering into each section as she passed. It didn't take long to locate him. He was standing awkwardly in front of an almost empty compartment, nervously shuffling his feet and glancing in. Taking pity on him, Hermione walked up to the compartment and slid open the door.

"Excuse me," she said confidently to the two girls sitting in the compartment. Ravenclaws, she recalled. "Do you mind if I..." a quick glance at Neville, "if we sit in here with you?" She saw Neville shoot her a fleeting smile of gratitude as the two upperclassmen helped them with their trunks.

After some brief introductions, Hermione excused herself so she could say goodbye to her parents. Neville followed her lead, tripping out of the compartment after her. He was muttering slightly and looking around on the floor with a very worried expression.

The realisation hit her and she almost laughed out loud. Schooling her face into something neutral, Hermione spoke up. "Have you lost something Neville?"

The red flush that consumed his face was all the confirmation she needed.

"My toad..." he admitted glumly, scuffing his shoe against the floor. He looked rather upset and before she knew what she was doing the words came tumbling out.

"Tell you what Neville, let's go say our farewells and I'll help you look for him". This seemed to brighten him up and he jumped to the platform to say goodbye to his Gran.

Finding her own parents was relatively easy, their obviously muggle clothing made them stand out like sore thumbs. Picking her way towards them quickly, she gave them one last farewell, guiding them towards her cabin so she could wave from the window as before.

It didn't take long before the platform was swarming with students and parents, arriving just in time to make the train. Her eyes scanned the crowd, identifying people she knew as they arrived.

At ten minutes till departure time, the first of the Weasleys appeared from the iron was Percy. Fred and George followed, both of whom immediately ran off towards the end of the train.

It wasn't long before a skinny boy with scruffy black hair and round glasses came barraging through the gateway.

Hermione's hands gripped the windowsill tightly as she fought the urge to run towards him. His eyes wide with wonder, Harry set off towards the very end of the train. Almost immediately after, Ron came through, followed by the rest of his family.

Her heart jumped into her throat. Ron was so close, but he wouldn't recognise her. He wouldn't know what they were to each other. It would be years before he even realised she was, in fact, a girl. The horror of her situation struck her. It was a struggle to even breathe as she stared out of the window. Her hands turned white as she held herself upright against the window. The other students had not returned to the compartment yet, and she allowed herself a small choking sound to crawl from her throat. If she changed anything, the slightest thing, everything could come undone. Voldemort could live, her children might never be born, and so many more people could lose their lives.

Her parent's faces came into view, and she plastered a smile onto her face. She felt the panic pushed to the side as a totally new set of emotions rose to the surface and a type of autopilot took over. Before she knew it, the train was screeching and pulling from the station. The smiling and waving people vanished under waves of steam as they shrunk from sight. Keeping the sense of excited nervousness, Hermione changed into her robes quickly and went with Neville to search the train.

She could, of course, perform a finding spell that would find Trevor in a matter of minutes. However - as she was supposed to be a first year - and ignorant of more advanced spells, she was resigned to traipsing round the train carriages looking for the toad.

It was hard, talking to Harry and Ron like they weren't best friends, like they hadn't survived a brutal wizarding war together. It was only the strange memory autopilot that got her through that first encounter. Now all she had to do was wait until she heard the screaming before going back and telling them off for fighting.

It didn't take long. A muffled shriek echoed through the train. Begrudgingly she started walking down the corridor, dodging out of the way as Crabbe and Goyle came running up the hall. The latter waved his bloodied finger around as he escaped, but Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

A frown creased her forehead. That wasn't right; he should have shoved her out of the way too. She turned into the boy's compartment, told them off for fighting and reminded them to get their school robes on.

Turning and marching back towards the front of the train, Hermione gave out an indignant yelp as someone grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into an empty cabin. Wand in hand she spun, stopping with her wand poised at the person's throat.

"Easy Minister, you could take out my eye," came the childish drawl of one Draco Malfoy. He stood in his school robes; arms raised open palmed in a gesture of surrender. He was watching her reaction warily, his gaze darting from her wand to eyes, a nervous smile played on his face.

"You..." she breathed, frozen to the spot. It took all of two seconds before Draco's words processed through her mind. "YOU!" Her words came out as a shrill screech, causing Draco to flinch. Her wand dropped from her fingers as she threw herself at him. Her fist connected with his shoulder and he fell into the bench behind him, his hands scrabbling for purchase.

"THIS. IS. ENTIRELY. YOUR. FAULT!" Every word was punctuated by a sharp punch to his body. They lacked power though and were rather half hearted by the time she reached the last word. Eyes filled with tears Hermione flung her arms around Draco's body and began to shake with silent sobs. The anger at seeing him was replaced with the relief that she wouldn't have to deal with this alone. She could feel him shuffling beneath her and his arm, the one that wasn't pinned to his body, before he awkwardly patted her side.

Sniffing in a completely undignified manner, she rolled onto the bench and sat next to him. He was rubbing his shoulder where she first hit him, and looking at her from the corner of his eye. They sat there in silence; Hermione was too tired for words. She let out a sigh as the train began to noticeably slow. They would arrive soon and it would be difficult for the two of them to communicate.

Draco cleared his throat before he spoke up. "We're going to have to talk, you know…" She sent Draco a half hearted glare, but he continued anyway, "Hermione, this…whatever this is…whatever happened to us. We have to fix it". His eyes were searching hers desperately.

"I know…I know Draco, I just have no idea what to do."

Moving jerkily Draco pulled some scrap paper from his pocket, it looked like he had torn them from a book. He took in Hermione's scowl and shook his head at her. "Seriously? We're stuck in time and you going to tell me off for this?" She only huffed in response. Ignoring her, he carried on. "You can do a really good protean charm right? If you can bind these sheets we can at least communicate for the time being, until we find something better."

Hermione hesitated as she reached for the pages. What if she couldn't do it? This was her eleven year old self after all; she didn't master the protean charm until fifth year. He seemed to sense her hesitation; thrusting the sheets into her hands he moved to the floor and grabbed her wand. He held it out to her with a determined expression. "You know full well we will not get a chance to speak alone like this for a while. At least this way I won't go crazy. Plus, we can use it to plan meetings," he paused as a slight grin ghosted his face, "secret meetings, just me and you Granger, sneaking around, sharing ideas…" His eyebrow raised in a slightly suggestive manner that looked completely out of place on an eleven year old.

She couldn't help it, she snorted with laughter. Grabbing her wand from him she rolled her eyes. "Give me a few minutes, make sure no one disturbs me."

"Room's already warded," came the smart reply. He was smiling in an accomplished, self-satisfied manner, the anxiety only visible on his face if one looked for it.

Closing her eyes, Hermione focused her intent on the two sheets. Moving her wand above them in a circular motion she whispered the incantation "PRO-tee-an". Once the magic took hold, she began twirling her wand in complex movements, adding layer upon layer of protection and concealment charms. Placing her left hand onto one of the sheets, she indicated that Draco do the same with the other. "I'm going to bind them to us, anyone who looks at these will only see something uninteresting and expected." She lightly rapped her wand on the back of their hands and a burning sensation seared through her palm. Draco winced, but made no move to remove his hand. Only once the burning had subsided and a slight tingling was the only feeling to remain, did Hermione remove her hand. The imprint glowed for a second before vanishing, leaving the parchment bare.

"Well?" She said, holding up her parchment at Draco. "What do you see?"

He paused in examining his own sheet to glance at hers, his face twisted with an expression of mock disgust. "Looks just like that rune alphabet I had to study during fifth year, mine?"

Hermione copied his expression "Quidditch team statistics".

Pulling a biro from within her robes and, after glancing at Draco's bemused expression, she quickly drew a smiley face on her parchment. "Can you see it?"

"Smiley face? Yep. Coming through clear." He coughed slightly, glancing out the window. "We're here."

"Yeah..."

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I…" He looked nervous, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "I'm sorry, for how I was…At school I mean. I…"

"It's fine," she cut across him quickly. "Let's just, get through tonight and we can decide what to do tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Talk to you later?" He looked slightly disheartened, his question hanging in the air with uncertainty.

"Sure thing Draco"

This was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter and on to the sorting!**

 **Thanks again Paz :D**

* * *

After a quick farewell, with reassurances that Draco would aim to act as normally as he could, Hermione joined the rest of the students in disembarking the train. The towering figure of Hagrid loomed ahead of her as she followed the throng of other first years. His familiar cry of "first years, this way" filled her with nostalgia, causing a happy smile to grace her face.

It wasn't long before they were bundled into the boats and setting off across the black lake, Hogwarts castle looming ahead of them grandly. Thousands of lit windows reflected on the surface of the lake, glittering and sparkling, hinting at the magic within. She couldn't help it, a huge smile spread across her face. The excitement was infectious, grinning stupidly she glanced across and caught Draco's eye. He too was smiling, eyes shining with a simple joy she suspected he hadn't felt in years.

Returning her gaze to the castle before her, Hermione allowed herself a moment of childish indulgence. Giddy excitement filled her stomach, like she had swallowed Cornish pixies! She squealed and jumped slightly in her seat. "I'm SOOOO excited!"

"Couldn't tell…" Came the nervous response of Neville, who was watching her warily.

"Oh shush you!" She laughed and playfully slapped his arm. He looked surprised, but took it in good stride, turning his own awe filled gaze to the approaching castle.

Once the boats touched the shore, they all clambered hurriedly onto the rock. The lanterns swinging gently in the wind illuminating the cavern they had come to rest in. Once Trevor the toad had been found and returned to the now happy boy, they all traipsed up to the entrance hall. They were met by McGonagall and her signature severe stare. She led them across the entrance hall, the sounds of their shuffling steps echoing around the expansive space, and into a small empty chamber off the great hall. After her speech on the houses and behaviour she swept her eyes across the room, a small pause stretched before she made another comment about appearance then leaving the chamber.

Students began to excitedly chatter and Hermione watched with affection as Harry patted down his hair and Ron rubbed at his nose.

Once again her eyes met Draco's, he flicked his to the walls then back to her. She suppressed a snigger and waited with baited breath. As if on cue the ghosts came pouring through the walls, eliciting surprised screams from the other first years. Trying her best to copy their surprise, she had to turn a loud laugh into a strangled yelp as she watched Draco's over the top reaction. That man was enjoying himself way too much.

McGonagall's return brought some calm, as she led them from the chamber. The great hall was just as impressive as ever, with its floating candles, enchanted ceiling, multiple dining tables and flaming torches. Quickly remembering to say something about the bewitched ceiling and "Hogwarts, a history," Hermione shuffled in behind another first year as they waited for the sorting.

Everything went just the same as before and, truth be told, she was a little bored. It was only once her name had been called that realisation hit hat was going to look into her head!

Steps heavy, trying to hold back the panic, she tentatively approached the stool and sat down. Taking in the hundreds of curious faces before her, the hat fell down over her eyes.

Silence…

More silence…

Breathing quickened, and just as she was ready to scream, a voice spoke.

"This, is unexpected… A great mind, no doubt there. Ravenclaw would have done you well miss Granger. I can see that Gryffindor was indeed the correct choice for you and truly allowed you to rise to greatness."

"You can see it?" She whispered.

"Yes I see it. A difficult and dangerous future lies ahead of us all. It is a great burden you carry, knowing what you do. If I may miss Granger, I'd like to offer you some advice?"

"Yes, please…" Hermione was not going to turn down advice from one of the most powerful magical artefacts in existence!

"The magical residual that taints you; it is dangerous and unpredictable. Try as you might to follow the same path as before, this might be an impossible feat. Take this as an opportunity, all magic has purpose and fate plays a stronger part in the fabric of this universe than you may believe." A chuckle came from the hat, as Hermione bristled at the mention of fate. "Your scepticism has been noted miss Granger, but from what I see in here you have your very own guide to fate."

"What do you mean?"

"If I were you child, I would pay attention to what your future husband says. The Weasley line is descended from a very powerful seer. I can see in your mind instances when he showed great knowledge of the truth. Find the right conditions, ask the right questions and use this chance you have been given."

Hermione was dumbstruck, what the hell was this hat talking about? This was utter nonsense! There was no way...A sudden queasiness passed through her as a memory was dragged forward, by the hat she supposed.

Harry, Ron and herself were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry passed her a small black book. Disgust churned in her stomach as she recognised Riddle's diary. She wanted to run and smack it from her younger self's hands. Just the thought that she touched such a warped object made her skin crawl.

"I wish I did know why someone did try to chuck it," said Harry. "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts, either."

"Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty O. or saved a teacher from the giant squid."

Hermione held her breath as she waited for the next words; they rang around her head on a sickening loop.

"Maybe he murdered Myrtle, that would've done everyone a favour…"

The memory switched suddenly, to Trelawney's smokey divination classroom.

Harry and Ron were sitting on a table together, heads bent over their teacups.

"You need your inner eyes testing if you ask me," came Ron's voice, followed by both boys' snickers.

"My turn…There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat, maybe your going to work for the Ministry of Magic?" He said in a joking manner.

This again was the truth; Harry did work for the Ministry, or will do?

"But this way up it looks more like an acorn. What's that?" She watched him flick through the book on the table. "'A windfall, unexpected gold.' Excellent, you can lend me some."

The Triwizard winnings. He also gave the gold away to the Weasley twins too…

It switched again and Hermione watched as her younger self marched out of the boy's room whilst carrying Crookshanks, the boy's voices followed her down the stairs.

"He's not looking too good, is he?" Came Harry's voice.

"It's stress! He'd be fine if that stupid great furball left him alone!"

She knew of course he was referring to the cat, but Sirius Black was also a great furball, being an Animagus. Scabbers, or Peter, was indeed stressed about a furball getting hold of him.

Her journey came to an abrupt halt as the hat loudly proclaimed "GRYFFINDOR!"

A bit disoriented, Hermione wobbled over to the Gryffindor table amidst loud applause. She sat shakily opposite Percy, who promptly shook her hand. "I think that's the longest I've ever seen anyone take to get sorted!" He said in a clearly impressed voice.

"Yeah," she said, "we had a wonderful chat."

He looked like he was going to ask what it was about, but he was interrupted by gales of laughter that flitted over the hall. Neville had run off with the hat still on his head, face bright red as he came and sat at the table shyly. Giving the poor boy a reassuring smile, Hermione turned back to watch the rest of the sorting, clapping politely after each one. The sorting hat's words kept coming back to her. Use it as a chance to change the future? Could they do it? The thought alone was scary, scary but thrilling! They could stop everything; they could cut off Voldemort before he came back to power! They could save hundreds of lives!

She was brought sharply out of her thoughts by a loud cackling echoing round the hall. A very worried set of eyes sought her out, and she watched as Draco Malfoy sat on the stool, under the cackling hat. It was shaking with laughter; its seams stretching over its mouth. The hall had fallen entirely silent, all watching with shock as Draco turned a sickly shade of pale.

This wasn't right…the hat barely touched his head before screaming Slytherin the last time this happened. Now it was acting like it had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Slowly it stopped with the hysterics, brim stretching into an evil grin.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Draco sat for a moment, jaw dropping open stupidly. He met Hermione's eyes, head tilting in a confused 'what should I do' face. She gestured sharply for him to come to the table, causing a few people to look at her curiously. He stood up, removed the hat from his head and moved in a sort of daze toward the table. Slowly people seemed to register that a house had been called, and a smattering of applause broke out amongst the students.

He was walking like he was going to fall over from shock. Moving quickly, Hermione dashed towards Malfoy and practically dragged him back towards the table with her.

"Malfoy! Malfoy!" She hissed at him. This seemed to bring him out of his daze, a big silly grin growing on his face.

"Back to Malfoy are we, Minister?" His smugly amused face and raised eyebrow, he was asking to be punched. "I thought we were friends?"

"This isn't funny!" She whispered shrilly. "This could ruin everything! Why are you not in Slytherin?! What did the hat say? Did it do this on purpose? Did you ask for this house?!"

Draco's face dropped immediately, looking a bit embarrassed and sheepish, his cheeks taking on a pink tinge. "I didn't, I swear!" He quickly reassured Hermione, who had, at the look on his face, taken a deep breath and was probably going to yell at him. "It's just," a quick glance to make sure no one was listening, "I've always been envious of you three. You all have friends, real friends. People who would risk everything for each other, people who challenge you and make you better." His glance turned towards the Slytherin table, "that environment only made me worse. Plus, I think the hat did it as a joke. It took one look through my head and started laughing like crazy…I could hardly hear what is was saying between laughing." He grimaced and leaned in to her. "Are we totally screwed?"

* * *

"Royally fu*# £ sideways with a broomstick". Her head fell into her hands and she let out a small groan. Percy Weasley was watching her curiously, he had probably seen them whispering together and thought it unusual. Draco could hardly blame him, the son of one of the wizarding world's greatest advocates of pure blood supremacy, whispering familiarly with a student of unknown blood status. Trying to avoid attracting more attention - which he was already receiving enough of - Draco subtly elbowed Hermione whilst glancing at the sorting line. Her eyes glared at him through her hands, before shifting her position and taking a look behind her.

"Potter, Harry."

Whispers broke out in waves across the hall, students standing up to get a better look at the boy-who-lived. He was sitting on the stool for a while, hat down over his eyes as everyone waited with baited breath. Everyone, except Hermione and Draco.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The applause that arose from the lions table was deafening, screams and shouts creating a wild mass of sound that caused Draco to wince. The Weasley twins were yelling enthusiastically, as Harry himself walked shakily to the table and sat opposite the Gryffindor ghost. He grinned in the direction of the head table and turning his head, Draco saw Hagrid giving the boy a thumbs up. It didn't take long for the Weasley to join them at the table. Draco felt that he had shown remarkable restraint in withholding a sneer when the red head glared at him. That and Hermione was pinching him under the table and hissing "play nice." Instead of returning the glare, Draco shot both boys a wide grin and a wink. Their confused faces were hilarious.

Dumbledore stood up and gave his odd speech, followed by cheers. Draco heard Harry asking if Dumbledore was mad and laughed to himself. "There is a fine line between genius and insanity," he said smiling at the boys opposite him.

Percy nodded happily. "Indeed there is. Percy Weasley, pleasure to meet you." Draco shook the outstretched hand offered to him, smiling the whole time.

"Draco Malfoy, likewise."

"Quit quoting muggles," came Hermione's whisper from beside him.

"Relax Granger, I'm not a Slytherin anymore. Change for the better, right?"

"You two already know each other then?" Percy asked smiling at them both.

"Yes we met on the train," Hermione confidently lied, "I was looking for Neville's toad and he was very helpful." She smiled at Draco, eyebrow raised almost in a challenge.

Neville had looked across at the mention of his name. "You were?" Came the boy's timid voice, a grateful smile on his face. A few other students were now paying attention; luckily Potter and Weasel were chatting to nearly headless Nick and weren't listening to him.

"I simply suggested some places to check, and kept an eye out for the creature."

"Thank you so much! Nobody else was really bothered…Somebody even suggested that I should try to lose Trevor permanently…I couldn't do that though, he was a gift."

Nodding gravely at this comment Draco continued. "Indeed, it wouldn't do to insult the gift giver."

Neville seemed relieved at Draco's understanding. "It was a gift from my uncle Algie, he dropped me out of a window you see."

"I take it you survived?" Draco couldn't help but drawl out sarcastically, earning him a sharp pinch from Hermione. Offering a smile to show he was joking, Draco held out his hand to the boy.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Neville Longbottom, just Neville is fine though."

Neville's hands were a bit sweaty, probably nervous; his handshake a bit tentative. His warm smile however was welcoming and kind. Draco felt at a bit of a loss, everybody here was being rather pleasant to him. He supposed that not remembering six years of vicious bullying does that to people. It was quite nice really.

"Well Just Neville," a pause for effect, "Just Draco will be fine too."

This got a laugh from the other boy and Draco felt quite pleased with himself. Neville, after all, became a very powerful and knowledgeable herbologist - a good ally to have.

Tucking in to the wonderful food before him, Draco let his mind wander as those around him began discussing their blood status. Except for Hermione, who was talking about schoolwork and advanced clubs. No surprise there then.

It was a bit surreal; no one was trying to hide their status as they were quite happy to talk about their muggle parents. It was quite liberating really, they were happy, accepting and generally didn't put much value on their parentage. This might be tricky if he wanted to throw his weight around for something. Not that he did that much anymore, only for important things, like finding his son…

His son…

Draco's cutlery fell to the table, his arm reached out and grabbed onto Hermione's tightly. Neville had noticed the movement and was looking at him worriedly. "Um, Draco are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Draco's whole face had turned ashen, and he felt like he was going to be sick. "I…" His voice cracked slightly, eyes widening as a sort of panic set in.

Scorpius…

Ron and Harry were now both watching him, along with Hermione and Percy. He turned to Hermione silently asking for help as her face scrunched up in worry.

"Hey, erm… Mate," came Ron's voice, "want me to get you the mediwitch or something?" Sharing a look with Harry the boy shrugged as a look of perplexion grew on his face.

Breathing deeply, Draco opened his mind and sent an image of Scorpius to Hermione. She nodded slightly, and then began to giggle. Many of her housemates began giving her dirty looks for laughing at the poor boy, but she continued nonetheless.

"I think," she laughed, "master Malfoy here has just realised he has to tell his Slytherin parents, that he isn't in that house!" This was met with various levels of sympathetic horror and downright mirth.

"Glad I'm not you, mate!" Ron said looking pretty grim himself. "Can't imagine telling my parents I was sorted into Slytherin." He visibly shuddered at the thought.

"Same," came Neville's quiet voice.

"What does it matter?" Harry looked a bit confused, and was instantly regaled with tales of the Slytherin and Gryffindor house rivalry by Ron and a few other Gryffindor's.

Draco sucked in a small breath as he shifted in his seat, relieved that the conversation had moved on to another tangent. A quick glance to his left and he met his gaze with Hermione, who had been watching him carefully.

"Thank you.," he breathed, and Hermione replied with a small smile.

"Your welcome, I'm trying not to think about it myself. Do you mind?" She indicated to her arm, which he released.

The rest of the evening he spent in a daze, staring into space and nodding absently if people spoke to him. Would their children never be born? What if, in this life, his parents disowned him for being a Gryffindor? Would he still be introduced to Astoria? The thought made him sick, he loved his son more than anything in the world. If they could change the future and save many lives, would it be worth it if he had to sacrifice his only child? Hermione too, would she be willing to give up both her children?

He doubted it. One thing he was sure about was that Hermione Granger was a tenacious and powerful witch, she wouldn't stop until Voldemort was gone and she had her family just the way she wanted it.

He would follow in her footsteps, and he would do the same.

Before he realised what was happening, he was being dragged along the corridors and up endless flights of stairs. Only coming to a stop once, to avoid being pelted by floating walking sticks. Neville unfortunately got the lot on his head as Peeves sped away cackling. It didn't take long after that to reach a portrait of a large woman in a pink silky dress. Eyeing it curiously, Draco couldn't help but admit to himself that he was a little excited. He had never been into the Gryffindor dorms before he had heard it was full of open fires, comfy chairs and so much red and gold it made your eyes hurt.

"Password?"

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, before leading them through a round hole in the wall. Draco had to help pull Neville through whilst Potter gave him a leg up. It was obviously built into one of the towers as the room was rounded, the ceiling was rather low compared to the Slytherin dorm but the roaring fireplace and squashy looking armchairs made it wonderful. There wasn't much red and gold to be honest, the walls were stone with tapestries lining them, the carpet was a deep plush red, but it went well with the slight coloured accents around the room.

He caught Hermione looking at him with an amused expression on her face, to which he rolled his eyes and snorted. Following the Gryffindor squad of boys through a spiral staircase on one side of the room they headed up to their dormitory.

The room was rather spacious and contained six four poster beds with deep-red velvet curtains. Each of their trunks were already resting against the end of a bed, Draco had been placed between Harry and Neville. Taking his cue from the other boys he changed into his pyjamas and dropped into the bed like a stone. He barely heard Ron mutter something about good food before dozing off entirely.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reading!**

 **Thank you to my Beta Paz!**

 **Enjoy this little bit of Draco x**

* * *

A noise broke Draco from his deep sleep and he blinked blearily at the drapes around his bed. He briefly wondered why they were deep red before mentally kicking himself. He was a Gryffindor now. He sat up slowly as he listened out for the noise.

The sound came again from the right, like someone whimpering. Draco's tentative hands pulled back the curtains before he peeked through the crack. Harry was twisting from side to side quite violently from the next bed over; his arms had already pulled the bedsheets away from his face and he appeared to be sweating quite heavily.

Pulling the curtain across more, Draco slid out of the bed and carefully went across to the thrashing boy. Draco was no healer, but he knew Harry could hurt himself. He quickly cast some silencing and cushioning charms around his bed. He jumped in alarm as Harry suddenly jolted and twisted in his direction. Scrambling backwards and pulling the curtains almost shut, Draco watched as Harry sat upright sharply, shaking and panting. He looked as though he had yelled quite loud, and Draco was glad he put the silencing charms up. It didn't take long before the boy rolled back over and was deep asleep again.

Draco carefully laid himself down into his own bed, a small sense of worry now burrowing into his gut as he listened to Harry's troubled breathing. So even at a young age Harry had nightmares, the poor sod. Worst thing he had to worry about at this stage was his father being disappointed in his school marks, and his rivalry with Potter. If he recalled the story correctly, it wouldn't be long before Harry and his mates got twisted up in this year's philosophers stone nonsense. Something to do with finding that Cerberus in the third floor corridor.

He paused for a moment.

That was his fault wasn't it? Challenging Harry to a midnight duel, and then informing Filch with the hope of getting Harry into trouble. Grimacing slightly at the memory, he leant back into the bedding. Well, there goes that continuity plan. Can't challenge Harry to a secret duel if they're 'mates'. He shuddered slightly at the thought of Ronald Weasley probably calling him that from now until forever.

Maybe he should ask Hermione how they should introduce the three-headed menace to boy wonder and co. Lazily reaching under the bed he dragged his school robes from the messy pile resting there. A quick glance through the drapes confirmed that everyone was safely asleep. From the inner pocket he pulled out the charmed paper Hermione had prepared earlier. It was hot to the touch, and as he flipped it over writing began to appear on it.

'Draco you awake?

I've been thinking that there must be a reason we have been sent back to this specific time.

I think we need to make a list of every major point in time that we can remember, and see if we can solve any problems now! The hat was right this is a perfect opportunity! We could save so many lives!

I need access to the restricted section; I know there are some volumes in there on time turners and travel. Dumbledore has a collection of tomes that I believe are records of time magic… Maybe we should approach him?'

Draco's eyebrows raised in surprise at the last line, mainly because it had been viciously crossed out after it was written. Then in capitals underneath was the word 'NO'. She had even underlined it several times. Then his eyebrows nearly vanished as he watched the next line slowly appear.

'Approach Severus?'

There had been no entries afterword, so she was waiting for a response or had fallen asleep… Who was he kidding? The neurotic witch was probably staring at the parchment in the hopes that he would feel the glare.

Draco heaved a sigh before he began to hurriedly scrawl his reply.

'Good evening, Minister. So nice of you to write! I apologise for not responding sooner, I was partaking in a spot of sleep (this is something us regular humans do daily, if you are unsure of its definition it will be my pleasure to enlighten you).'

He paused for a moment to chuckle to himself.

'I agree with the list, might give us a better perspective…but do you really want to tell Severus? Why not Dumbledore?'

The response was almost instantaneous; he knew she'd been watching the parchment.

'Ha ha, your wit astounds me…THIS IS SERIOUS DRACO. Severus Snape is the most powerful occulemens I have ever heard of, the man can keep a secret. Not to mention his experience will be invaluable to us, who else to better help us blend in? And you know why we can't go to Dumbledore. He won't be able to resist trying to manipulate the situation. Just look at what happened with this year the first time around!'

To be completely honest, he was surprised that one of Dumbledore's most ardent supporters was aware of the man's manipulative nature. He was a true 'for the greater good,' 'needs of the many' kind of man. Willing to sacrifice himself and others in his quest for the light side. It would probably be for the best to approach Severus first, and on his advice maybe Dumbledore after.

'Snape first, possibly Dumbledore after. He is a genius and may be able to assist us, you did say, after all, that he has books that can help. It would be better to have him on our side, however the support of Severus lets us stay in control.'

'Fine.'

'Good, now get some sleep Granger.'

'That's Minister to you ;)'

Draco stared at the paper incredulously. She actually drew a smiley face - a smiley winking face no less! He could feel his face turning red, she was teasing him! Serious, his wand!  
The Minister of Magic sent him a smiley winking face…Did that count as flirting? Yes, he decided, it totally did. It was clear she was trying to lighten up the situation. No doubt the next few days would be difficult and stressful, at least until they had a plan.

With a smile on his face Draco penned back 'yes Minister.' He then drew a little sketch of a stick man sweeping his cape into a low bow. A quick flick of his wand and the small man came to life, sweeping and bowing on the page.

It was nice, he decided, not being alone in this. Having someone else, especially such a talented witch as Hermione, would make this whole situation at least a little bearable.

His wand arm tingled strangely. Absently shaking it out, he went to place the parchment under his pillow. As his fingers released it, a bright spark zapped between his fingers and the page, causing him to jump and twist off the bed, swearing all the way. He landed with a thunk, the sparks racing up his arm, fizzing out before igniting elsewhere. His whole body became covered with the crackling of lightning as the smell of burning air hit his nostrils.

Before he could scream, the heat and pressure hit him. His body twisted in the air before being ripped apart into millions of tiny molecules and thrown through an intense tunnel of colours and sound.

Quite suddenly and without warning, Draco was mashed back together, his body forming again before dropping down onto deep green bedding. Disorientated and queasy, he flailed against the constricting covers, tumbling out of bed and onto dark hardwood flooring.

Blinking slowly and holding back the rising dread of realisation, Draco's vision came back into focus.

He was in his room.

He was in his room that he had when he was eleven years old.

He was in his room that he had when he was eleven years old, that he had already woken up in that morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to my Beta Paz!**

 **Hermione in her pyjamas. Dobby is cute. Draco uses a sandwich as a pillow!**

* * *

"Wha?"

His voice came out croaky and wavering. Draco's eyes wildly scanned the room for answers, But his limbs shook from the effort of trying to sit up, either that or fear.  
This couldn't be happening.

"Hello…" Throat threatening to close even as he spoke that word.

He was right there, at Hogwarts! Meeting Hermione on the train, getting sorted into Gryffindor, playing nice with the original DA gang - even chatting to Hermione through the charmed parchment!

What happened?!

The room was still shrouded in darkness, the lightly glowing face of his grandfather clock showed the time as midnight; the same as when he awoke before.

Swaying slightly, he got to his feet and clicked his fingers. Soft lighting sprung from the lamps placed around the room, casting a warm glow over his childhood bedroom. The wooden wall panels were light green with gold detailing and edging. Tasteful, and elegant. How Draco wished he couldn't see them.

It had happened again. He had travelled through time again. From the looks of his packed Hogwarts trunk, he had gone back to the start of his first day.

All that effort they had put in the previous day; trying to act normal, trying to fit in, trying to figure out what in Merlin's saggy drawers was going on?

Wasted, completely wasted. And what's worse, if they couldn't figure out what was happening, chances are they would be stuck in a time loop.

His breathing increased, hands clenched into fists that shook with frustration. He never wanted to feel this out of control again. Back when Voldemort was rising, he had had no say in his own future. He was expected to follow blindly, to kneel and be humiliated for his 'masters' gratification.

At least then he had been able to see an end. Taking each day as it came he was able to fight, struggle...to make some sort of progress towards taking back control of his own life. But this…How can you fight time itself?!

What if this kept going on forever? Repeating, day after day. Never moving forward, never making progress, just an endless loop.

A growl bubbled up from his throat, encompassing him completely as the sound ripped into an anguished cry. In a crazed motion Draco began destroying his possessions, flipping his study table, smashing anything delicate and throwing priceless family heirlooms into the wall panels.

Frustrated tears poured down his face as he sunk to the floor in a defeated heap.

'POP!'

Jolting in surprise, Draco found himself staring into a pair of large green eyes the size of tennis balls.

"Dobby?!"

The house elf was standing awkwardly in front of him, twisting his hands together and twitching slightly. Dressed in his customary pillowcase and looking as filthy as ever, Dobby's eyes were staring intently at the young Malfoy.

It took two seconds for Draco to register the sight, before letting out an excited squeal and leaping at the frightened creature. Before Dobby could flinch away, Draco had him in an almost bone crushing hug.

"DOBBY! Ahahahahahaha!" His laughter was almost hysterical as he gripped Dobby's small frame.

"Ma…master D-Draco Malfoy, sir?" His voice was hesitant and shaky, like he couldn't quite understand what sort of punishment this was supposed to be.

Drawing back from the hug slightly, Draco could see Dobby eyeing his trashed room. The elf was still twitching slightly and Draco realised this was because he hadn't gone and told his father yet. Thinking quickly, he made a decision.

"Dobby…" He said sternly, drawing the elf's gaze back to him. "Do not tell my father about this." The elf still looked doubtful and started twitching even more. "If you fix everything and agree to help me, then there wouldn't be a reason to tell him, would there?"

The trembling stopped immediately, and a small sly smile came across Dobby's face.

"Dobby is to tell Master Malfoy if Master Draco Malfoy is causing trouble…" He clicked his fingers, causing the trashed room to right itself instantly. He then turned to Draco, "Master Malfoy, sir. Master Malfoy is causing trouble, sir".

Once again Draco burst out laughing. Dobby followed with a small nervous laugh of his own.

"Dobby, I had no idea you were so Slytherin! This is brilliant!"

"Master Draco Malfoy? You is saying you needed Dobby's help?"

Nodding in response, Draco stood back up and stepped away from Dobby.

"Right, I need you to check for foreign magic on me. Possibly time related."

The little elf's face scrunched up comically for a second, before furrowing in concentration. He moved in circles round Draco, palms facing the young wizard. Trying not to move, Draco followed Dobby's movements with his eyes. He appeared to be moving his palms in complex patterns and murmuring softly. Suddenly with a sharp movement, Dobby snapped his palms back and a golden mist sprung from Draco's body. It slowly rotated around him, like particles of glowing sand, sending tingles across his skin. It looked just like when Hermione was destroying the time sands.

"Master Draco Malfoy, sir…"

"Just Draco Is fine."

Dobby let out a nervous laugh at that, "Master Draco…Malfoy…"

Eyes focused on the glittering dust, Draco sighed and motioned for Dobby to continue.

"Dobby has not seen magic like this before, but Dobby is knowing of it sir. It is from sands of time, sir. They is used in time turners." He added helpfully. Reaching up, Dobby pointed to a thin thread of the sand that vanished through the wall.

"Is Dobby right in saying that you is not the only one with this, sir?"

"Yeah, a witch by the name of Hermione Granger was there when…When I got contaminated."

"Dobby understands! Dobby will be right back!"

"Wait Dobby, what?!"

But the elf was gone, his small hand touched the golden thread and a cracking sound was left in his wake. Draco was left there, dumbstruck as he was surrounded by the floating particles. What the bloody hell was he supposed to do now?! He could only hope that his father didn't suddenly have an urge to check on his only son's well being - never did before. Sighing dramatically and spinning slowly on the spot, Draco zoned out while he waited for Dobby to return.

In what seemed like no time at all, the elf popped back into the room accompanied by a rather dishevelled Hermione. Her hair was crazier than ever, sticking up at all angles, her pyjamas rumpled and - yellow with pink unicorns over it - his lips pursed as he tried not to laugh.

"Morning Minister!" He couldn't help but grin at her cheekily.

"Oh, shove it Draco." She looked a bit grumpy, but he could see a small smile tug at her mouth. "Well this is a right mess," she huffed, stomping over to his bed and perching on the edge. "I just don't get it!" She flung her arms in the air and fell back onto the bed.

"Dobby will fetch sir and his guest some Refreshments!" Dobby looked quite pleased and almost did a jig before vanishing with a soft pop.

"What…Did you do to Dobby?"

"Nothing," she said defensively, "just treated him with the decency he deserves."

Rolling his eyes, Draco laid down next to her, legs swinging off the edge of the bed. "Ahh, spew is it?"

"S.P.E.W!" She lightly smacked his arm as she corrected him, getting an amused snort in response.

He wanted to ask her - she would probably already have a theory - what if it was what he feared?

"Do you think it was something we did? The first day I mean. Or..." he took a deep breath, turning to look at her worriedly, "do you think it's on an automatic loop due to the explosion?"

"I won't lie to you Draco, it might be the second option. Really hoping it's not!" She chuckled darkly. "But we might be stuck on loop endlessly. 'Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time'. Ha! If I only took my own advice! I guess I just…Thought I could do it, you know?"

"Always had a big ego Granger, haven't you?" He felt the corner of his lip quirk as he watched her reaction.

Hermione's brow furrowed at his jibe. "Twat"

This only caused Draco's smirk to grow. "Language Minister! Your husbands slovenly speech is contagious, I see." Laughing nervously, Draco fiddled with the edge of the duvet. "Was it…did you see the sparks? Came from my wand arm, I think."

"Like directly from the wand?"

"No," he shook his head as thought over his response, "more like from under my own skin."

Hermione digested his words with a thoughtful nod. "How odd."

He sat up instantly. "What do you mean? How did you get sent back?"

"The 'sparks' came from the parchment, the one I made," her face fell into a slight frown, eyes glazing over as they took a strange far away look.

Well, there would be no talking to her now. She had the 'thinking face' on. He had seen it on her enough times to know that nobody could get through to her when she is this deep in thought, not even Harry or Ron. She would probably stay like that for hours.

Might as well make good use of himself; he got up and was intending to check over his Hogwarts things again, but the tray of snacks laying on his desk had suddenly caught his eye.

"Thanks Dobby," he murmured, taking a seat at the desk. Brain buzzing slightly, he began slowly picking at the food for something to do.

The next thing he knew, Hermione was shaking him. Stupidly looking up at her, he watched as she pulled a piece of lettuce off his face. Must have fallen asleep on a sandwich. "Honestly Draco, your almost as bad as Ron!"

"I take offence to that," he drawled, the effect quite lost due to the fact he probably had other bits of the sandwich stuck to his face.

She shook her head, chuckling slightly. "Yes, I'm sure." She then licked her thumb and was going to rub it on his face, as if to smudge away dirt.

"Merlin, damn it! Granger, get off!" He swatted at her with irritation as he tried to scoot away. This just caused her to smile wider. "You're being annoying on purpose, aren't you?"

But Hermione froze as inspiration struck her. "I think I know what we have to do."

He waited for her to continue, but she started shuffling and looking rather sheepish.

"What?" He pressed.

"You're not going to like it."

"Just spit it out, Minister!"

She snorted at that, chuckling darkly. "Okay, but I warned you!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for reading!**

 **Thank you to my Beta Paz!**

 **Draco is a little shit!**

* * *

"I hate is the worst day of my life. I feel like a is going to be my life, forever! Draco Malfoy; aristocratic, pure blood wizard completely unable to do magic… FOREVER!"

"Oh shut up, you dramatic little snot!" Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco flopped heavily onto the train seat. He was staring balefully out of the darkened window, countryside zooming past in a shadowed blur.

"It's just for the first day, to see if it breaks the loop. If it does, we can research better using the Hogwarts library. Possibly conduct a few tests of our own. I don't know about you, but I'd rather start experimenting after waking up at Hogwarts and not having to do a massive train journey everyday."

"I acknowledge that you make sense. I do, however, reserve the right to sulk when I have been reduced to nothing more than a squib!" He flung an arm over his eye and let out a long sigh.

She couldn't help but smile. Seeing him like this, it was easy to see where Scorpius got his personality from. If Draco hadn't been so pressured as a child - and by that she meant an arsehole in training - they probably would have been friends. He was watching her from under his arm and she flashed him a smug grin and promptly pushed him from the seat.

"Minister! I will be filing a complaint to your department! This rough manhandling of my person is unacceptable!" He puffed his chest out and inhaled deeply, "My Fa-"

"My Father shall hear about this!" She exclaimed dramatically, interrupting Draco's well-known catch phrase.

"Oh, shut it." He said good naturedly, snorting through his nose.

* * *

Once again they found themselves in the great hall, with hundreds of unsuspecting eyes watching them excitedly. Being the third time around it was slightly less daunting for the returning witch and wizard. The only problem now would be the sorting itself.

And the darn hat.

They had gone over what Draco needed to do with the sorting hat; arguments that he could put forward to get sorted back into Slytherin. Although he probably would immensely enjoy being a part of Gryffindor, they had agreed that he could do the most good from within the snake pit - his words, not hers.

Once her name had been called, and she had, once again, made her way to sit at Gryffindor table, Hermione nervously turned her gaze to the gaggle of waiting first years. Draco was staring resolutely at the tattered hat in question, as if by glaring hard enough he could force it to do what he wanted. Holding back a grimace, her eyes followed him as he approached the stool and plonked down heavily onto his perch. The hat was lowered upon his head, and Hermione felt her breath stop as she watched. Crossing her fingers, she waited in hope.

Hope that was slowly fading as Draco's face turned redder and redder, contorting into a sort of scowl sneer thing. It was obviously not going well.

The hat sprang to life, brim widening as it roared its decision.

"HUFFLE-"

"YOU SODDING PIECE OF SHIT!"

Not going well at all.

Draco had ripped the hat from his head mid-announcement and, brandishing his wand, proceeded to set fire to it.

"RATTY PIECE OF JUNK! I HOPE YOUR ASHES ARE IRREPARABLE!"

McGonagall was there in an instant dousing the flames, face filled with shock and anger.

"Mister Malfoy, never have I seen such…" she began, voice rising dangerously.

"OH SOD OFF MINERVA!" Draco stormed from the raised platform and, instead of heading towards the Hufflepuff table, stopped in front of Hermione.

Still in shock, the rest of the school had not moved an inch, watching in horror, as Professor McGonagall turned red, her lips almost disappearing in anger.

Inhaling deeply, Draco spoke to Hermione softly, his words travelling through the frozen room.

"It's not my fault. Granger…I tried, I really did but…but It was dragging up all of my mistakes and I-I…" his voice trailed off as he took in Hermione's scowl. She was rising slowly from her seat; face glowering, sparks hissing from her now drawn wand.

"Now…now, come on Minister." He stumbled backwards as she advanced on him. "Be fair, It was being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable?" The tone of her voice should have been a clue really; it was one she had learnt from Molly Weasley. From her peripheral, she saw every Weasley present wince and shrink back slightly from her. Instead of picking up on this cue, Draco squared his shoulders and took on his self-assured face, the moron.

"Yeah! Unreasonable! The stupid thing barely listened! To the points that YOU gave me, by the way."

That was it, she supposed, that was the moment she snapped. To be fair, she did attack first, his only warning the formal duelling salute she quickly presented.

The rest of the hall became a blur, the sudden rise of noise like an annoying buzzing as she proceeded to thrash Malfoy with a barrage of wandless spells. Sparks and lights flashed in every direction as he threw up shield after shield, all the while backing away and yelling that it was her fault too.

A sudden drop in pressure hit them and they were instantly hanging by their feet, arms dangling frantically as they still tried to reach each other. Wands were ripped from their grip as they slowly rotated in the air, to face a very serious looking McGonagall. She flicked her wand once, and they went flying backwards from the main hall, letting out shocked yells as they sped through corridors and up staircases.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Came Draco's strangled yelp.

Taking a moment to track the direction they had been heading, and feeling a bit sick from the upside down ride, Hermione yelled her response in one word, "DUMBLEDORE!"

"SHIT!"

Within minutes, which is a very long time to be upside down and speeding backwards, they came to a sharp halt outside a very familiar gargoyle. It looked at them for a moment before stepping aside, allowing them to ascend the spiral staircase, still dangling by their feet.

Door slamming behind them they were promptly dumped into chairs facing the headmaster's desk. A quick wriggle and it was clear that Minerva had stuck them to the chairs. Blinking rapidly and trying to clear her brain from head rush, Hermione turned and looked at Draco. His face was flushed and he blinked dizzily.

Hermione sighed as she gave Draco a sidewards glance. "That was fun."

"Yep…" He looked up at her blearily, "My father will hear about this."

Her face scrunched up and she snorted a laugh. Before she knew it they were both giggling.

"I can't believe…" she snorted again, "you set fire, like actually set fire, to the sorting hat!"

"Oh thank Merlin no one will remember this tomorrow." Draco covered his face with his hands, body still shaking with giggles.

"I will."

"Urgh…. NOOOOOOOO!" he wailed, "You cannot show anyone!"

"Muahahahahahaha!" Hermione's shoulders curled into herself as she snickered at his predicament.

"No! No evil laughs! Stop it Minister!" A flush was beginning to warm his pale skin. "Oh, just let me die now!"

"I believe that can be arranged, Mr Malfoy. My office has received your request, and I will have my top secret assassins take care of it immediately!"

Rolling his eyes Draco attempted to appear nonchalant, which was hard to do with his arse stuck to a chair. "Why Minister, I have never known the ministry to run with such efficiency! You must tell me your secret."

"Yes, well…" clearing her throat slightly and looking at him sheepishly, "I may or may not have… blacklisted anything with your name on it."

He looked stunned for a moment, before bursting into laughter once again. "I bloody knew it! I knew it!" He looked positively delighted at the news. "'Hermione Granger-Weasley, war heroine and Minister for magic would never do such a thing!'" He had adopted a high-pitched voice and was acting scandalised. "'Draco you are being paranoid!' And my personal favourite, 'The Minister is above such grudges and would not act so childishly!"

"Stop looking so smug."

"I'm just so honoured, that you would pay so much attention to me, Minister. That you would take time from your day, to make a note of what I am doing and even sabotage it. I'm touched, I really am."

"I did not sabotage. I just complicated things; added in extra forms, lost others… created new legislation that would somehow only apply to you."

"I am thoroughly impressed." He looked slightly bemused, "Is this why, whenever I was in the Ministry, you would somehow be there when nothing was going my way?"

She chuckled "Yeah, the entrance guards always gave me a heads up when you entered the building. It was quite fun, watching you get all flustered and angry like that. 'Don't you know who I am? I am a Malfoy!"

"I do not sound like that." Draco wrinkled his nose at the poor imitation, but his expression only seemed to further fuel Hermione's amusement.

She carried on regardless. "'I have lots of money and I will throw a tantrum if you do not approve this Creature license immediately', 'I need another wing built on my current mansion because I cannot fit my personality into this one, what do you mean I have to wait? I am a Malfoy!'"

Draco rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and let out a huff of badly disguised laughter. His eyes crinkled at the edges as he gave her a sly sideways stare. "Maybe you should be the one going into Slytherin next time."

"Oh what fun that would be… I can see it now, rooming with Parkinson, best friends forever!" She splayed her hands out as though projecting a screen in front of her. "We could braid hair, gossip and swap curses."

"Don't be daft Minister…Nobody would be able to braid that mess."

Her head whipped round to glare at him."Git!"

He seemed inordinately pleased with himself, smirking at her happily.

"You are such a child."

"Technically, I am a child, currently anyway." He shook his head in disbelief and raised his eyes to the ceiling, "Merlin we are in so much trouble, Headmasters office before the end of the welcome feast. Must be some sort of record."

"Well done, you've beaten Harry on that one."

"My life is complete."

Returning his sarcasm with a wry smile, Hermione pondered what to do next. Her gaze travelled across Dumbledore's strange collection of spinning and puffing instruments, finally resting on the shelves of books lining the walls. Her whole body stilled as her eyes began blitzing across the spines, searching for anything time related as they sat and waited.

* * *

It was quite clear that Hermione had completely zoned out.

Her body had frozen and her eyes were practically vibrating with the speed they were trailing across the books. He could have transfigured the table into a hippogriff and ridden it around dressed as Longbottom's Grandmother and she wouldn't have noticed.

The headmaster would probably have to wait until after the feast to come here, which gave them a bit of time. Closing his eyes and concentrating, he tested the strength of the sticking charm and was surprised to find that it wasn't particularly strong. Obviously enough to hold a first year, but after his and Granger's display of duelling, he had expected McGonagall to use something stronger.

"Finite"

Humming happily to himself, Draco moved from the chair and perched on Dumbledore's desk in front of Hermione, grinning and waving his hands in a 'ta da' manner. He was right, she didn't even bloody notice. Here he was, using wandless magic, being awesome, and she was focused on the books behind him. Sighing and running his hands through his hair, Draco wandered over to the other side of the office. There were - 'surprise, surprise' - even more books over here. He began running his fingers over the spines, waiting for something to call out to him, and something did.

A loud screech blasted in his ear and Draco yelled and fell back in surprise, landing awkwardly against one of the spindly-legged tables.

"HOLY SHIT!"

A large red plumed bird was perched on a banister near the shelving and was watching him intently. That bloody phoenix, how did he forget about the overgrown chicken? Stupid thing must have snuck up on him. The bird let out a low caw and leaned forward intimidatingly. They couldn't read minds, could they? Clearing his throat nervously, Draco slowly removed himself from the table and stood straighter.

"Evening…" Shit, what was the bird's name? Fawkley? Roarks? Faw…kes? Worth a try, "Fawkes?"

He got a low hum in response and took it as a good sign. Feeling slightly more confident, Draco approached the bird and tentatively reached out a hand. Fawkes eyed his fingers for a second, before giving them a light nibble, much the same as his old eagle owl used too. He had never been so close to a phoenix before, eyeing the golden beak warily he reached his hand higher and stroked Fawkes's head. The red feathers seemed to glow slightly in the evening light, golden tail feathers gleaming as Fawkes shifted his weight and leaned into the stroke.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Draco."

Fawkes's dark eyes seemed to stare at him questioningly, and he found himself telling the phoenix everything that had happened over the past week. All the while absently stroking the softly glowing feathers as Fawkes hummed.

"I'll admit, it is mostly my fault, and that is hard to say, I can tell you! I shouldn't have kept that time turner, definitely shouldn't have touched it in Granger's office. And setting fire to the sorting hat will probably make it hate me the next go round." He let out a heavy sigh, "shouldn't have told McGonagall to sod off either, that was rather rude of me." Fawkes's eyes narrowed in what he could only assume was agreement. His eyes flicked over to where Hermione was still sitting in her chair, only now she had a stack of books on the desk in front of her and was devouring them rapidly.

Funny, he didn't notice her move.

Leaning in to Fawkes conspiratorially, his eyes flicking back to meet the Phoenix's as he whispered lowly. "Don't tell Granger, but if she wasn't here I'd probably panic and go a bit mental. She is the most brilliant witch I've ever encountered, so I'm not worried."

Fawkes screeched and cocked his head slightly.

"Okay, maybe a little bit worried."

The phoenix made a strange sound, and Draco could swear it was laughter.

"Glad someone's having a laugh." His eyes flickered back over to Granger and, to his surprise, found her looking straight at him in shock.

No, not at him, something behind him. His neck snapped back round and he found himself frozen in place by a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Well that was certainly an interesting tale, Mr Malfoy."

His half moon glasses tipped forward as Dumbledore gazed at him intently. Screaming internally, Draco realised that Dumbledore was probably there the whole time he was talking to Fawkes. The man was one of the most powerful wizards in history and he would certainly be able to make himself invisible. Guilt began rising within him as he remembered the role he played in Dumbledore's death. He squashed it and checked his occlumency shields were in place. He suspected that Dumbledore had some sort of Legilimency skill - natural, most likely - and he wasn't letting him get anything from him.

Anything more that is…Shit, Granger was going to kill him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello and welcome to another chapter! Thank you to those who left kudos and comments! It made me fly through this chapter and a lot of the next!**

 **Thank you to my Beta Paz!**

 **Things to look forward too:**  
 **\- More Dobby**  
 **\- More time stuff**  
 **\- Theories with Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore**

* * *

The book slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a soft 'thunk' as Hermione watched Dumbledore move slowly to his ornate seat. Settling himself comfortably in it, he then began to observe her over the rim of his glasses.

So many emotions raged through her at that moment; joy, anger, sadness, relief, distrust, just to name a few. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just sat there gaping uselessly at the wizard before her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Minister Granger…"

"Granger-Weasley." Came Draco's voice from the other side of the room.

Hermione's eyes flicked towards him sharply and he began staring at the ceiling as though it was the most interesting thing he had seen in his life.

Nodding differentially towards Malfoy, Dumbledore continued. "Minister Granger-Weasley then. Although it appears you already know me?"

Schooling her face into blankness, she glared back at the Headmaster. He was gazing serenely over his half moon glasses at her, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. It was irritating. Everything about him sitting there - with his stupid half smile, his stupid glasses, his stupid beard and silly twinkling eyes - was extremely irritating.

She couldn't help the ache within her chest that started to rise the moment she locked eyes with him though, no matter how irksome she found him. Blinking back tears and swallowing heavily, Hermione sharply nodded once.

His eyes tightened slightly, appraising her carefully. He moved slowly, to keep from startling either of them, and picked up one of the books from the desk.

"The Circle of Time, by R. ," he picked up another, "Novikov's Self-Consistency Theory? Judging by these, Minister, I could surmise that you are in need of a bit of assistance. As I am unlikely to remember any of this conversation, if you do indeed repeat this day again, it would be quite safe for you to ask my assistance in this matter, would it not? At least for today?" His soft smile and calm demeanour were making her grit her teeth.

"He's got a point Granger." Came Draco's voice from the far corner, where he was slightly hiding behind Fawkes.

He did have a point, questionable choices aside, Dumbledore was…is…a brilliant wizard. He is one of the most intelligent men in the wizarding world and more likely to look at the problem objectively.

Clearing her throat, she sent a meaningful look at Draco, a sort of let me take it from here glance. "An outside perspective might be helpful, I don't really know where to start."

Dumbledore waved his hand in a 'continue' manner. "Perhaps if you share with me some of your theories?"

Frowning, Hermione took stock of her thoughts. "From my experience of using Time-urners before," Dumbledore's eyebrows rose in surprise, as did Draco's, "it followed Novikov's theory that you can't change anything by going back in time, as it has already happened within your timeline. So any changes you make…have already been done…by you, so the timeline stays intact. The one that the Boy's were using though was…is? Will be? Different. It created entirely different timelines, erasing the past and fracturing what was and would have been. Changed who lived, died and was born…" She shook her head slightly. "Which is baffling as it doesn't compare to Novikov's theory at all, and barely links to Mallet's theory of time as a loop."

She let out a frustrated groan before she continued. "And now it makes no sense at all, because the Time-Turner is gone and we are still travelling back, looping 24 Hours at a time!"

"Did you say that the Time-Turner is gone?" Dumbledore had leant forward as his fingers locked together on the table.

"Yes. Whilst I was dismantling it, I removed the outer casing, until all I had left was the final glass vial and the sands within." Pursing her lips slightly she thought about the dust. "Although it would make sense if some of the magic had clung to us…" She frowned deeply as her words trailed off.

Draco cleared his throat and walked towards the desk. "Um, I got Dobby to have a look at my magic this morning, and he says that it's contaminated with the sands of time." He looked a bit sheepish, "that's how he found you this morning, and it - the time magic, that is - is linked together." He was visibly squirming under both their gazes now, "I might have forgotten to mention it earlier?"

"I cannot believe…" shaking her head exasperatedly, and gazing to the heavens for strength, Hermione let out a deep breath.

"Could this Dobby, your house elf I presume? Could they replicate it?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, probably, I'll…I'll just ask?" He stepped back a few paces then clearly spoke, "Dobby!"

For a beat, nothing happened, and then there was a sudden pop as Dobby appeared in front of them all, beaming happily in his dirty pillowcase. "Master Malfoy has summoned Dobby! What can Dobby do for Mast…" Dobby cut off his speech as he noticed the other two occupants of the room. "Lady Hermione Granger! Dobby is pleased to see Master Malfoy's very close friend again." He bowed deeply, ears flapping enthusiastically. His eyes then fell on Dumbledore and he let out a strange sound, like a squeak and a fast inhale of breath.

The Headmaster lowered his gaze, eyes peering curiously over his half-moon glasses at the small elf.

"Good Evening, Dobby," he said softly. "Young Master Malfoy here, was just telling us about how wonderful you were at revealing the time sands this morning. I, that is, we, would be ever so grateful to you if you could show us again? If you are able?"

By this point he was positively vibrating with joy, turning his large glassy orbs to Draco for permission, he leapt into action. He was practically skipping around Draco, who was watching Dobby with amusement.

Shifting forward, Hermione couldn't help but watch in fascination as Dobby swiftly moved his hands in strange patterns around Draco's body. When he suddenly stopped and snapped his hands back, she nearly fell out of her chair from shock as the golden particles exploded from his body like some sort of space projection.

She heard Dumbledore's equally impressed gasp from beside her, as her eyes trailed through the sands surrounding Draco's body.

Dobby was now moving to the side of Draco that was closest to her, he was still moving his hands and used them to tug on a section of the sand. A thin stream of it began to wink into existence between her and Draco, revealing a small layer of sand skittering over her own skin.

"I believe, Minister, we have found the sands of time, the source of your time travel." Dumbledore sounded a little breathless as he spoke and his eyes were wide with wonder.

"Yeah. This is probably because you stuck your hand in it, Draco. When I was applying the final spell to destroy the glass container, and the sand had to go somewhere. Shit!" She slumped back heavily in her chair, golden dust flitting across her at the sudden movement. "This is all my fault! I should never…I should've…at least realised, I'm such an idiot."

Flinging an arm across her eyes, she sat for a moment, just to collect her thoughts. Which was hard, as they were currently spinning dizzily around her head. It looked like they were now the containers for the sands, essentially a living Time-Turner. How the hell would that even work? Without the turning mechanism, how was it even sending them back? Was it because they moved during the day? Was proximity an issue? How would they stop the loop? Did they have to be further apart? Closer? Would it always only be 24 hours? Or would it bring them right back to this day every time? And why this day in particular?

A slight cough brought her attention back to the two wizards in front of her. Dumbledore was gazing at her curiously, with some humour to his smile. Draco's eyes kept flickering between her, the Headmaster and the sands currently twisting over his body.

Letting out a sigh she dropped her arm and sat up straight, neatly arranging her hands on her lap.

"It looks like we have absorbed the sand and by doing so have become a sort of living time turner. Unfortunately we are stuck on a 24 hour loop, from midnight to midnight, and unless we can find a way to control it…"

"You will both be stuck repeating the same day over and over." Came Dumbledore's soft voice from beside her.

Hermione didn't respond, she was watching Draco carefully. He was staring off into space with a deep look of concentration that marred his youthful face and gave away the presence of his older self.

"So what you are saying," he said calmly, still staring away, "is that we just need to figure out how it works? I have always been rather good at puzzles…it'll be just like making a new spell." His eyes met hers. "You've always been good at problem solving, right Minister?" A cheeky grin lit up his face, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"A compliment! Be still my beating heart! Who knew you'd be the optimistic one? This might be more difficult than coursework, I'm afraid. It will be a lot of trial and error on our part. We don't even know if it is just the one-day or if we will keep going back to the beginning even if we do know how to get to the next day. There are so many questions we need answered! I mean, maybe the sands decrease each time and eventually we will stop jumping back."

"Well I hope we can control it, as time travel could be a useful skill," Draco interjected.

"Not to mention we might not even be in our original timeline anymore, we could be in an entirely different universe fractured off from our original, and anything we do has no consequences on that one. But if it is the same, we could screw everything up! Voldemort could win! Everyone we love could die!"

She was rambling now and hardly taking a breath in between words.

"The darkness could rise and everything we worked so hard for last time would have been in vain! We're only children currently, what the hell can we do? I've got no clue where to even start with this."

"Easy Granger, let's just work on moving ahead one day, ey?" Draco patted her arm gently; "No need to fuss about anything else until we can at least move forward. And if we can't get to tomorrow, then we don't have to worry about fucking up the future! Just about going nuts!" He was smiling and trying to look encouraging; it was a bit like having Harry try to cheer her up.  
That thought drew a laugh and she nodded gratefully to the blond.

Dumbledore stepped forward, a movement so fluid it barely ruffled his robes. "If I might interject, we are now approaching midnight. It may be useful to have Mr Dobby here relay any observations he may have during the travel sequence? It may help you figure out how to proceed towards tomorrow." At this Dobby had leapt forward and was nodding vigorously, he was practically vibrating with joy.

"If you wouldn't mind Dobby, I'd appreciate it." Draco said, meeting the elf's eyes sincerely.

"Dobby would be honoured!"

"Thank you Dobby, you are very kind." Hermione patted his arm as she spoke and Dobby nearly burst out crying from happiness.

Draco moved away to stand at the other side of the room; the golden thread connecting them was still glowing strongly. He bounced on his heels nervously, sending her a small smile as they waited for something to happen.

Dumbledore took out a pocket watch from within his robes and was watching the spinning planets on its surface. "One minute"

Hermione's stomach was twisting in knots and she bit her lip anxiously. Dobby was completely focused on the spiralling sands, his hands slowly moving in patterns as they all held their breath.

"40 seconds."

Nothing was happening. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe nothing would happen.

"30 seconds."

Maybe they only had to do one day twice and then they would move onto the next one?

"20 seconds."

Maybe the sand had already used too much energy too soon?

"10 seconds."

Maybe…

"The sands are moving," came Dobby's voice "they are building up in Master Draco Malfoy's body." He was holding his hands out and they were shaking slightly in effort.

Hermione could see it, the golden specks were twisting wildly around and through Draco's body and he was looking more and more unnerved by it.

Suddenly there were sparks moving across his arms, they spun across his skin and flowed through the rest of his body. The thread between them suddenly surged as all the sands of time poured towards Hermione. She jolted back, but that made no difference. They twisted through her own body causing sparks to fly over her own skin, before violently rushing back towards Draco.

"The sands is turning by using yous bodies as the glass spinny!" Dobby was shouting loudly. "Yous is the turner!" His last words echoed loudly through her ears as the pressure built, and then she was spinning away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone for continuing to follow this little adventure!**

 **I like receiving your kudos and comments!**

 **I may have got a little carried away, so here is a long ol' chapter of Draco's adventures in Muggledom.**

 **Thanks to my Beta Paz**

* * *

The dizziness was definitely getting better; he didn't feel like vomiting all over the floor and his limbs were responding faster than the previous time jump.

'And here we are again,' he thought dully, rolling out of bed to drop to the floor in a dramatic heap. He lay there for a few minutes, arms and legs flung out in all directions. His mother would say that he was sulking, but he believed that 'contemplating life' was a more fitting description.

He sighed as he rolled onto his stomach and gingerly pushed himself to his feet. The dizziness was definitely getting better. A few more jumps back in time, and he probably wouldn't even feel it at all…a bit like apparition.

Even though he had told Hermione that they could do it, and joked about going mad, he was actually worried about it. His family didn't exactly have a good broom record with this sort of thing, just look at auntie Bella. He shivered at the thought. But she was brilliant, and once they had it figured out they would be fine.

"Dobby?" he called tentatively.

The elf appeared in front of him, twisting his hands together and looking apprehensive. "Master Draco Malfoy calls for Dobby?"

He inwardly grimaced at Dobby's reaction; his father was cruel to all those he believed to be inferior to himself, which was mostly everyone. Well, this time Draco wouldn't be stupid enough to do that.

"Yes Dobby, I need you to go and fetch someone for me please."

Dobby had frozen and his eyes were bugging out of his head comically. What the hell was wrong with him?

"I have the sands of time stuck in my body and they are connected to a Miss Hermione Granger. Now if you use your magic you can follow the path and bring them here."

"Dobby shouldn't…Dobby should get Master Malfoy..."

"What? No Dobby! Listen, use your magic and look in my body for the sands of time, please do this first and don't call my father!"

Dobby was giving him another strange look, but held his hands up and began moving them in strange patterns again. Draco relaxed slightly, that would have been very bad if his father had been called. 'My father won't hear about this' he giggled to himself.

Dobby's hands snapped back, drawing out the spinning particles the elf's swift movement and Draco watched with amusement as Dobby's eyes bulged further from his sockets. He was moving around Draco when he suddenly tapped the thread connecting him to Granger.

"Master Draco Malfoy was right, and this is connecting the master to Miss Hermione Granger? Will Dobby be waking the miss up? It is late for Dobby to be bringing Miss Hermione Granger here."

"What? No It's alright she'll…" his voice trailed off as he had a thought. "You know Dobby, that is a very fair point. It would be rude to drag Granger here in the middle of the night."

Dobby sighed as though relieved, and Draco grabbed his dressing gown - black silk of course - and pulled it on tight. "Okay Dobby."

"Master Draco Malfoy Sir?"

"Lets go to her," he reached out his hand and took a hold of Dobby's shoulder as he gave the helper an encouraging smile. "Wouldn't do to drag a lady from her home in the middle of the night, now would it? Lead the way!"

Dobby made a strange little whining noise, but Draco was a bit excited. He'd never actually been to a muggle home before. What a perfect opportunity! He was practically grinning when he and Dobby vanished with a pop.

To say Hermione was surprised to see him was a bit of an understatement. She gaped open mouthed at him as he gave her a jaunty wave. "Morning Minister! Thought I'd just pop in anmuuuuuuu-"

Her hand smothered his mouth and she was shushing him whilst glancing at the door.

"Shushhhhh, shut up Malfoy! My parents might hear you!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "What are you doing here anyway?"

He raised an eyebrow at him and pointed to her hand, which was still pressed firmly on his mouth. She frowned at him and slowly took her hand away a warning expression on her face.

"As I was saying earlier," he whispered dramatically, "I thought I'd pop in and see how the other half live, as it were." He sniffed haughtily and looked round her room, barely concealing his curiosity. "I've never been in a muggle house before, and Dobby reminded me that it would be rude to drag a Lady from her house in the middle of the night."

At his mention of Dobby, Hermione turned around and begun introducing herself to the house elf. The poor sod looked overwhelmed and confused. Draco smiled fondly at the interaction before turning his attention back to Hermione's room.

Books, and they were everywhere. He shouldn't have been surprised really, but it was a rather small room, no bigger than his mothers walk in closet. Every surface was suffocating in books. The walls were covered in single shelves that looked as though they had been added on as needed, and even then that wasn't enough. She had vertical stacks across the floor; her desk however was completely clear and organised. He snorted a laugh at that, and his gaze fell on her Hogwarts trunk. The lid was thrown open and the inside was so neat and tidy, that if he hadn't seen the desk he wouldn't have believed she had packed it from the chaotic state of her room.

Smiling to himself, he went to her bedroom door and poked his head out into the hallway. There was a door directly to the right that looked like some sort of a bathroom, but it was the staircase that surprised him. Directly to the left of her door was a banister that prevented you from falling down into the entrance hall, the stairs curved round the walls leading down to a beautiful wooden floor where he could see a baby grand piano on an ornate rug.

Looking ahead he could see the hall reaching further into the house with what looked to be another three rooms and a hall leading off to the left. Making the decision to have a good poke around Draco went to leave the safety of Hermione's room, only to be forcibly yanked back by the collar.

"Where do you think you are going?" She hissed at him. She was looking slightly panicked with wide eyes.

"Just having a look round Minister," he said cheerily. "Must say it's not like I'd thought it would be."

"Yes not all muggles live in hovels. Honestly Draco, you can't wander around my house! What if my parents see you? How will I explain having a boy in my house?"

"Magic..." he whispered, spreading his arms out and wiggling his fingers. Huffing, she just rolled her eyes at him. Okay, time to try a different tactic. "Look Hermione, we're probably going to have to repeat today anyway right? Come on, show me around." He nudged his shoulder with hers and tried his most charming smile.

"Urgh stop that, it looks weird on an eleven year old. FINE…come on, follow me and keep quiet, you too Dobby." He did a little jig on the spot before tiptoeing after her, shortly followed by Dobby, whose ears were practically quivering in excitement.

She led him down the hall a short way before veering off to the left and leading him down the stairs. He quickly checked out the hallway to the right as he passed it, and nearly laughed out loud when he saw it had a bookshelf that spanned the entire length. Obviously a love of books ran in the family. He quickly caught up as she pointed out a stair and mimed jumping over it. He was surprised that even muggles had false steps like Hogwarts, but he followed her instructions.

A short while later he was sitting in the kitchen. She had carefully shut the door and turned on the main light that flared brightly before she swore and dimmed it quickly. He couldn't help himself, he was staring at everything, the whole room was fascinating. There were weird contraptions on the gleaming surface tops, black marble if he was right, that looked shiny and he wondered what each one was used for.

Dobby had been placed on a high stool next to him, by what Hermione had referred to as the breakfast bar. They must have looked an odd sight sitting together, him in his black silk robe, Dobby in his Pillowcase. The grin still hadn't dropped from his face.

Hermione was walking around the room, muttering things to herself like "can't believe this" and "where is the bloody thingy?" She filled up what he assumed was some sort of strange muggle teapot before putting it onto its mat and flicking a switch on the side. She then climbed onto the worktop and pulled three mismatched mugs from the high cupboard. She carefully shimmied back to the floor before turning back to him and Dobby.

"Tea or Coffee?" She said as she gazed at them expectantly.

"Tea is fine, right Dobby?" He nodded exaggeratedly at the elf, who copied his movement in a shell shocked sort of way.

Nodding, mostly to herself, Hermione opened a different cupboard this time and took out a tin, from which she added little bags to the mugs. He nearly had a heart attack when she opened another door and a bright light flooded the room, he could feel the cold radiating from it. Another wide-eyed stare was shared with Dobby, who looked just as perplexed as him.

"Sugar?"

"Yes dear?" This got him an eye roll and a small snort of laughter, anything to lighten the mood.

"I mean, you wally, did you both want sugar in your tea?"

"Yes please. Dobby?" Silence from the elf. "Uh, Maybe some for Dobby too?"

A few minutes later he was sitting with Dobby and Hermione in an entirely different room, clutching his mug and thoroughly enjoying himself. The tea was pretty good - chalk one up for the muggles - and Hermione was explaining about the fridge and the kettle. All in all he was quite pleased with his little adventure into muggledom.

Dobby was sitting on a plush chair, with his legs dangling over the edge. He was sipping on his tea and his face was creased up with happiness. Poor little sod had never been treated like a person before. He felt guilty for a moment before remembering that he was practically brainwashed as a kid and he could make that change, now that he had a second chance.

"Look Draco, I think I have had an idea."

"Go on," he sipped his tea and waited for Hermione to get her thoughts together.

"Dobby said that the time sand was using our bodies like the hourglass…" she paused and smiled at the elf before continuing, "I think we need to find a way to stop the sand flowing from you to me and back again."

"So what? You want to put a plug in it or something?" He did an over the top shudder and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her.

"Ha ha, no. I was thinking more like we do a test with Dobby here and see what affects the sand. Whether being closer of further apart stills it or makes it move quicker."

"If you wanted a hug minister all you had to do was ask."

"Stop joking around!"

"It's my coping mechanism." Glancing at Dobby, he motioned with his free hand some of the movements the elf was doing earlier. "Give us a hand Dobby?"

Before he could blink Dobby had placed his mug on a small table and was dancing around where he was seated on the Granger's sofa.

He stood once the glittering dust was floating around and walked as far away from Hermione as he could. She appeared to be gazing intently at her arm, eyes following the movement of the sand probably. Then started one of the strangest hours of his life. Hermione had him walk from room to room, closer then further. He had to do different poses, hold still for a certain amount of time, jog on the spot, etcetera… etcetera. He was actually growing rather tired by the time she let him sit back down again, and his tea was cold…

She took his and Dobby's mugs out to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with new ones. He thanked her quietly and sat there, eyes drooping as he sipped on his tea.

"Judging from the movement of the sand, I think we should probably be touching and it will stop the flow." She had paused and was watching him with a strange look.

"Knew you wanted that hug," he yawned his words out. "What?" She was still looking at him weirdly.

"Nothing, it's just…you look adorable." She was giggling now. "Like a little sleepy kneazle kitten, all blinky and yawning." She snorted loudly, shaking over her tea. "Oh my gosh, if everyone could see you now!"

He found himself laughing along with her. "What are you saying Minister? I'm very impressive and intimidating!" He drew himself up and puffed out his chest. Admittedly the effect was almost immediately ruined by a huge yawn, causing Hermione to burst out in loud laughter.

"Hermione? Is that you sweetheart?"

They both froze.

Wide eyed, Hermione began making shooing motions with her hands at both him and Dobby. They both quickly jumped up and grabbed at each other. Before they vanished Draco saw Hermione let go of her mug. It hit the floor just as they cracked out of existence.

Clever witch…

He found himself standing back in his room with a smiling Dobby. It took a moment to realise that he still held his cup of tea in his hands. Shrugging slightly he took a sip and headed to bed.

He had a full day to look forward to tomorrow. Hopefully it would be the last time he would have to ride his first train to Hogwarts.


	9. Chapter 9

The sound of the kettle whistling woke her up first, followed by the light sounds of laughter and small voices. Extracting herself carefully from the bed beside her sleeping husband, Jean Granger went out into the hall to check on Hermione.

As expected, her daughter's room was empty. She was probably too excited to sleep and had gone down stairs to make a cup of tea. Shaking her head fondly, Jean headed down the staircase listening as she went.

A muffled voice came through the door of the living room followed by Hermione's loud laughter. Frowning slightly she approached the door.

"Hermione? Is that you sweetheart?"

There was silence for a beat, and then the unmistakable sound of a mug smashing. It echoed strangely as she opened the door. Hermione was standing there looking sheepish, shuffling slightly on her feet.

"Hey Mum…I couldn't sleep…so I uh, made a cup of tea…" She finished lamely whilst avoiding her mothers eyes.

It didn't take long for Jean to notice the second cup of tea sitting across from where her daughter was standing. Hermione had followed her gaze and also noticed the other cup of tea. The girls eyes darted quickly across the other coffee tables, a small frown on her face. She turned back to her mother with a very serious expression on her face.

"That's Dobby's tea."

"Dobby…?"

"Yes. Dobby the house elf, he came to make sure I had everything ready before I went to school tomorrow." She nodded sagely.

Laughing lightly, Jean grabbed the dustpan and brush and began clearing up Hermione's smashed cup. "Well I am sorry to have disturbed the pair of you. Come on sweetheart, let's get you back to bed." Picking up 'Dobby's' mug and placing it into the sink, Jean noticed that it was only half full.

Hermione explained that this was because Dobby was only small and she didn't want him to feel obligated to try and drink a full one.

The whole way back to her room, Hermione explained about house elves and how they could use special magic. And how Dobby was her friend and how he belonged to a family of witches and wizards.

She was still chattering when Jean tucked her into bed and kissed her head. "Now Hermione, you can tell me more about Dobby in the morning. Time to sleep, big day tomorrow."

"But muuum..."

"No bottoms Hermione!" That got a giggle. "Go to sleep, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Love you Sweetie."

"Love you too, mum."

Closing the door quietly, Jean headed back to her own room. Sliding back into bed, she began thinking about the interaction with her daughter. If she didn't know better - which she might actually not in this instance - she would have thought Hermione did have a house elf round for tea. Smiling to herself she settled back down to sleep.

Magic…There was a lot she was going to have to learn.


	10. Chapter 10

**And back again to the Hogwarts express! From Draco's point of view this time!**

 **Really appreciate all the kudos and comments I have been receiving! yay!**

 **Let me know what you think, favourite moments so far and what you'd like to see in the future! all feedback is welcome!**

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Draco had asked Dobby to clean his newly acquired Muggle Mug, and had placed it carefully in his school trunk. Underneath his underwear, where no one was likely to find it. He was rather pleased with his adventure last night, and the progress they had made with the time magic.

Practically skipping to breakfast, he ran down the stairs and slid into the dining hall on his socks. This was met with raised eyebrows from his Mother and an almost smile from his Father.  
Grinning stupidly, Draco sat down next his mother, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Good Morning Mother, Father."

"Good Morning Son" His Father nodded regally in his direction.

Ah Father, so stoic and proper as usual. It had been extremely jarring that first day back in time. Seeing his father as the proud pureblood aristocrat, instead of the hollow shell of a wizard he had been reduced to, was an extremely unnerving experience. Seeing his mother unbroken by the trials of their time with the Dark Lord however, filled him with an innocent happiness he had not felt since before Astoria had become ill.

"Good Morning Draco, darling." His mother smiled affectionately, briefly gripping his arm, before sitting back up and motioning with a small gesture.

Silver trays came floating out, depositing traditional French pastries, cheeses and meats across the table. Grinning wildly he began eating with manners that would have made even Weasley cringe. Why not? He was only eleven after all.

He could see his mother holding back laughter and he wiggled his eyebrows at her, still shovelling food into his mouth.

His father leant forwards as he addressed Draco. "I do hope, that you remember your manners whilst dining at the Slytherin table in the future Draco. It would not do to have you shame our family name with such slovenly actions." His father's words were serious, but his face betrayed the humour he was feeling.

"Hmm…." Draco swallowed his current mouthful and raised an eyebrow. "So if I am not in Slytherin…I can act how I like?" He asked cheekily, quickly popping a pastry in his mouth with another grin.

His mother laughed lightly at that, though his father shook his head in exasperation.

"You will one day be the head of the Malfoy estate. You would do well to make contacts within the noble house of Slytherin. The future of our family endeavours will rely greatly on the way you conduct yourself during the next seven years. I trust you will not disappoint me in this?" His face more serious than before, a slight upturn in the corner of his mouth was the only hint of humour remaining on his face.

Propping his elbows on the table and placing his hands together in front of his chin, Draco observed his father carefully. He maintained eye contact as he chewed slowly. It was ironic really; that it would in fact be Lucius's own choices that would jeopardise their family's integrity, not his. He could see a slight frown starting to form on his father's face as he continued to stare straight into his eyes.

It was almost embarrassingly easy to slip into the topmost thoughts swirling around the older man's head. Pride at the thought of his progeny going to Hogwarts, worry that Dumbledore would try to contaminate him with his muggle loving ways, fondness and humour at the way Draco had been acting, and irritation at the way Draco was staring at him currently.

Draco smiled, his mouth moving strangely and showing far too many teeth. "Of course Father, I shall endeavour to do my best. But if the hat places me in another house, don't hex me alright?" This drew a laugh from both his parents. His mother ran her hand over his head softly and he felt like he was a child again, simply enjoying time with his parents.

The breakfast ended shortly after that, with conversation flowing easily through mundane topics. Once or twice he had to catch himself from saying something that shouldn't be coming from an eleven year old, but overall he enjoyed his third first breakfast with his parents. This was truly the last time that their interactions weren't marred by something; being outsmarted by a muggle-born witch in every class, unable to form a positive relationship with Harry, being outshone by Potter in Quidditch, The Dark Lord lurking on the scene again and many more things.  
There would always be something his Father wouldn't be happy about. Well, If Draco has his way from then on, his Father will be unhappy about many things in the future. This filled him with a sadistic bit of glee as he went to prepare himself for the day ahead.

Before he knew it, ten o'clock had arrived and the family was ready to leave. Dobby had been instructed to take Draco's belongings straight to the train; the little elf was bowing lower than usual and trying not to make eye contact with Draco, probably to avoid drawing attention towards them both. Clever creature.

With practiced ease Draco took a handful of floo powder, and confidently breezed his way through the fireplace and into the Kings Cross Floo. From there they made their way towards the platforms nine and ten, his father sneering at any muggles unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Rolling his eyes, Draco sped ahead of his parents, ducking and diving between the various trollies and bodies. Almost skipping, he darted in front of a boisterous family and straight through the barrier between the platforms. And there it was, the elation and excitement at first seeing the Hogwarts express. Tempted to do a little jig on the spot, Draco was about to plough into the crowd when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

"Decorum, Draco. It would not do to embarrass yourself before reaching Hogwarts, would it?" His Father's hand was almost painfully tight on his shoulder, eyes gazing above Draco's head to the bustling platform ahead. Allowing his Father to steer him through the crowd, Draco took the opportunity to observe the other wizarding families.

Hugging, crying and excited exclamations...how completely unlike his own upbringing it was. He made eye contact with a few of the new first years, smiling at them cheerfully. He even gave a little wave to Longbottom as he passed, causing his father's grip to tighten. It was actually painful.

"Let up will you, Father?" He patted the hand attached to his shoulder. "I'll need that for school work tomorrow." With a surprised expression, which instantly disappeared, his Father released his shoulder. "Ta!"

Lucius frowned at the colloquial language, and opened his mouth as if to say something, before his wife cut him off.

"Oh let him be Lucius, the boy is just excited, aren't you Draco darling?" She pulled him in for a hug and squeezed him tightly. "Now don't you forget us. If you need anything just owl. I'll write to you often and send you a treat or too if you're good, agreed?" She was beaming at him and stroked his face fondly.

He couldn't help it, it was just so nice to have her hug him again. He pulled her in for another clutched onto her tightly. "I'll miss you mother." He mumbled into her shoulder, blinking back tears. She had him in a vice like grip again, and he knew that to any outside observers it would seem as though she was the one holding him in place. For that he was grateful to her, wouldn't do to get a reputation on the first day as a crybaby.

When she released him finally - albeit reluctantly - he pecked her on the cheek in thanks. He then turned to his father and without warning he threw his arms round the stoic man. It was almost too funny, he tensed up rigidly and his eyes went comically wide. After a few moments, he tentatively patted Draco on the back earning giggles of laughter from the boy.

Leaning back Draco beamed up at his Father and smiled brightly. "I'll miss you too…Dad!" The sheer look of disgust he received sent Draco back into giggles of laughter. "Kidding! Kidding!" He laughed, jumping back and raising his hands in surrender.

"Honestly, Draco," his Mother said fondly shaking her head at him. "You'll give your Father grey hairs, more than he already has anyway…" They both grinned at Lucius with matching mischievous faces. The Wizard frowned between them before sighing.

"I am under attack from my own household!" He declared dramatically, waving his cane in their direction. Draco was thrilled; this was the Father he remembered, hidden under all that entitlement and snobbery. "Put upon by my Wife and mine own offspring, for shame!" He put the back of his hand against his forehead and swayed on the spot ever so slightly, probably still aware that others could see him.

"Oh stop being so dramatic Lucius." Narcissa swatted her husband on the arm, laughing demurely all the while. "We have to take Draco to meet his friends so they can find a compartment together."

Without further ado, Draco and Lucius were almost dragged through the throngs of people before Narcissa spotted the Parkinson's and made a beeline for them. Trying not to grimace, Draco had to stand next to Pansy and attempt to make small talk whilst their parents spoke above them. It was bad enough yesterday, he had to put up with the same inane chatter from her again! Resisting the urge to start pulling his teeth out, Draco let his gaze wander and it didn't take long for it to settle on a very familiar head of bushy hair.

Hermione was happily chatting to her parents, bouncing on her heels excitedly. Occasionally she would glance around as though looking for something. His eyes flicked to her parents and he watched how they reassured her, they pulled her in for hugs and laughed and grinned. It was just like with his parents, and he shook his head at the silliness of it all. How wizards ever thought muggles were any different from the rest of them was a mystery to him. What idiots they had all been.

"Urgh, Muggles!" Came the high voice of the witch beside him, she had followed his gaze and was watching the Granger family with contempt. "It's disgusting that they are letting that filth into our school." She stuck her nose in the air and turned her face away. She was still watching Draco out of the corner of her eye though, as if looking for his approval.

"Don't be such a twat Pansy," he drawled, "of course Muggleborns will attend Hogwarts, where else would they go?" She stared at him open mouthed and gaping like a fish. "Need new blood don't we? Can't have all our children coming out cross-eyed and crazy now can we? Think I'll go say hi!" Without looking back, he hurriedly jogged over to Hermione before anyone could call him back.

"Alright Granger?" He yelled into her ear, causing her to jump and spin round to face him quickly. "Mr and Mrs Granger," he stepped forward offering his hand, "A pleasure to meet you both, I am Draco Malfoy." They each took his hand with a confused expression on each of their faces, and he surprised her mother by kissing her hand once offered. Granger still hadn't spoken or moved, but her father was looking at her questioningly.

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you to Mr Malfoy…" said Mr Granger, looking a bit lost.

"Draco, please."

"Draco then, how do you know…?" His eyes glanced to his daughter who was now staring a hole into the side of his head.

"Oh! Of course, Hermione and I met in Diagon alley when you were buying her school supplies." He turned on his most charming smile. "Of course I was fascinated to hear all about her life and yourselves, Dentists are you?"

"Oh! Must have been in that bookshop! We lost Hermione in there for a while, she does love reading, don't you sweetheart? Yes Dentists, but I suppose you don't need that in the wizarding world do you Draco? Got your spells and whatnot for that ay?" Mr Granger elbowed him good-naturedly and he nodded enthusiastically.

"We have spells and potions for most ills, but the skill of healing is difficult. It is only advised to get healing from a trained healer - magical bodies need magical cures you see."

"I do see, interested in healing are you Draco?" said Mrs Granger, smiling fondly at him.

He paused for a moment, unsure. "Maybe? I never thought about it before…"

"Yes! Well! I'm sure Draco wants to get back to his family to say his goodbyes, don't' you Draco?" Hermione was staring at him pointedly. She jerked her head back towards his parents. He leaned around her to look at the group of Purebloods, before quickly hiding behind Hermione again.

"Probably safer over here to be honest, don't want to get hexed," he whispered. "Father looks so annoyed, this is hilarious!"

"Those your folks Draco? They seem nice…?" Mrs Granger was trying to be polite, he could tell. His Father was glaring heatedly in their direction; he must have noticed his absence…and company.

"Yeah, don't mind my Father, bit wary of…strangers." He grimaced up at them awkwardly.

A look of comprehension dawned on Mr Granger's face and he nodded soberly. "Don't worry yourself lad, we get that in the muggle world too. Now," he said clapping his hands together, "lets get this ridiculous trunk on the train and find you a seat Hermione."

Draco waved them off, laughing at Hermione's huffing that the trunk wasn't ridiculous and was actually very useful. He watched as she boarded the train, parents waiting on the platform for her to return for their final goodbyes. Tearing his eyes away he headed back to where his group were waiting. Crabbe and Goyle had arrived and he could see Nott loitering nearby with his Father, Nott Senior, cruel bastard.

His Father was watching him, eyebrows raised in a 'we will discuss this later' type manner. Smiling innocently, Draco slipped into the conversation between his soon to be (if all went well) housemates. Pansy kept shooting him strange glances, clearly confused by his behaviour. Crabbe and Goyle, bless them, were as oblivious as usual.

The first warning whistle sounded, setting off the frantic boarding process. Draco watched amused as young Witches and Wizards clambered onto the train, rushing around each other in a panicked frenzy. A quick hug to both his parents, a warning look from his Father, and he too joined the throngs of children climbing on the train.

The final warning whistle screeched out across the platform, as families waved and yelled goodbye. His parents did neither of course; they stood still, surrounded by the swirling tendrils of steam. He chuckled and smiled at them, so dramatic and theatrical. God he hoped they could do better this time, all of them.

Lost in thought, he absently watched the youngest Weasley girl run after the train, waving and crying. She fell back and was lost to the steam as the train sped ahead through central London. Deciding to wander aimlessly, Draco headed through the train, occasionally stopping to say hello or introduce himself to people he knew or will know. The Trolley Witch came past and he bought some pasties and chocolate frogs, eyeing her warily the entire time. Not that he was going to attempt to jump off the train, but…just to be safe.

"Draco!" He flinched, spinning round on the spot.

"Oh hey Pans!" She was standing in the corridor, arms crossed and already in her Hogwarts robes. "Didn't see you there, I was just..."

"Where did you go? Come on," she ignored his protests and dragged him up the train roughly, "We have a compartment near the front."

As she dragged him through the isle, he began chewing on a pumpkin pasty, half of it hanging out his mouth. He waved to everyone that caught his eye, and thought he spotted Potter and Weasley having picnic as he zoomed by.

He was unceremoniously dumped into the bench of their compartment as Pansy announced loudly "Found him!" He remained sprawled in that position, not bothering to move as Pansy shoved him further up the bench so she could sit too. "He was wandering the corridor at the other end of the train, hopelessly lost…"

"Merlin Parkinson, he's not a puffskien!" Draco laughed at that, Blaise was sitting opposite him and was rolling his eyes at Pansy. "Nice to see you again Malfoy," he said offering his hand.  
Leaning forward Draco slapped a pasty into the awaiting hand, grinning devilishly "Alright, Blaise?"

The dark boy was silent and unmoving for a moment, as though unsure whether to be offended or not. Draco then proceeded to throw chocolate frogs at Crabbe, Goyle and Nott. He gently passed one to Pansy - no need to risk her being violent - smiling happily the entire time. Seeing this, Blaise relaxed and sent Draco a smirk.

"What's got you in such a good mood? You're like the owl that caught the gnome."

Leaning back into his chair and extracting another pasty from his pocket, Draco looked around at his fellow Slytherins. It was going to be tough, breaking their prejudice. Luckily for him, they were all still young, 'old Kneazle new tricks' and all. He would just have to lead by example.

"I feel like changing the future, how about you lot?" Nott and Zambini started laughing with him, as Crabbe and Goyle looked on in confusion. Pansy sighed dramatically and rose to her feet, leaving the compartment and muttering something about boys and going to look for some intelligent conversation.

They sat for a while chatting about Hogwarts, what they were most looking forward too, how unfair it was that they couldn't play Quidditch until second year. Draco regaled them with stories he'd been 'told' about secret passageways, ghosts and Hogsmeade. "But you can always sneak into the kitchen, and the elves have Butterbeer and so many snacks that will make your stomach explode!" Goyle and Crabbe were practically drooling at that point.

They all changed into their school robes and Draco stood up as he shook out his sleeves. "If you'll excuse me gentlemen, I have to see a man about a toad." That got him some laughs. Crabbe and Goyle made to follow him, but he shooed them back to their seats. "Don't worry, I won't get lost this time! If I'm not back before we leave, I'll see you at the Slytherin table!" And with a wink he dashed out into the corridor and went to find Granger.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for all the favourites and follows so far!**

 **I'm so happy that you are enjoying my story!**

 **As ever I love to hear your opinions and what you'd love to see in the future! It's inspiring!**

 **And so Draco meets up with some Gryffindors...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The corridor was packed with bodies, children running and yelling excitedly in every direction. Groups of them dashed between compartments, school robes flapping behind them; like a flock of hyperactive birds. Being so small actually had its advantage, as Draco was able to duck and weave with little difficulty; receiving only the odd jostles and shoves for his trouble.

He could hear one of the elder Weasley brood trying to call for calm, must be Percy doing his prefect rounds, and Draco did not envy him that! He had years before he had to even worry about rounds and patrols! Passing underneath the arms of a particularly enthusiastic kid, fourth year would be his guess, and trying to avoid the sudden swell of people, Draco jumped into the doorway of a compartment and slid the door open to move out of the way of the oncoming elbows.

He stumbled slightly into the almost empty compartment, and froze as the door shut behind him with a click. The cacophony of sound was instantly cut off and the sudden silence was almost pushing on his ears.

"Uhmm"

His eyes snapped up sharply and he drew in a breath of surprise. A pair of bright green eyes, framed by circular glasses, were peering at him cautiously. A quick glance to the left confirmed, that in all the carriages in all the train he had to fall into this one. Well, better make a good first, or in Potter's case second, impression.

He straightened up and smiled sheepishly at the pair of young boys in front of him. Oh Merlin, his palms were sweating. His face was starting to redden, he was certain. He coughed awkwardly, "Sorry… I um, there was loads of… and I didn't want to get squashed?"

MERLIN DAMN IT, WHAT WAS HE DOING? WHERE WAS THE CONFIDENT DRACO MALFOY?

His fingers were fiddling with the edge of his sleeves and his shoulders rose marginally. His father would have a fit if he saw him now, but he couldn't help himself. If all went well tonight, there would be no do over for today. He took a fortifying breath and made eye contact with both Potter and Weasley.

"Right, I'll just…" He motioned to the door as if to leave, when Harry quickly shot to his feet.

"I'm Harry!" He said quickly, he looked a bit surprised at himself for standing up and speaking, causing Draco to chuckle lightly.

"Draco, Nice to meet you Harry" He held out his hand for Potter to shake, waiting two agonising seconds before the boy grasped it happily.

"And this is my friend Ron" Harry chattered excitedly gesturing to the scruffy red head sitting by the window.

Sighing internally Draco went to shake hands with Ron also, surprised when the boy gave him a reassuring smile. "Ron Weasley, you first year too?" The boy gestured for Draco to sit.

The shock nearly bowled him over; Ron Weasley was trying to make him feel comfortable… will the wonders never cease! He plopped down onto the seat, almost opposite Ron, whilst Potter resumed his previous spot by the window.

"Yeah, my whole family has been to Hogwarts though; so I've been told what to expect."

Ron leaned forward at that almost bouncing in his seat with the movement. He exchanged a quick glance with Harry, "Do you know what the sorting is?" At Draco's confused expression he elaborated. "My parents never told me what happens in the sorting ceremony, my bothers told me stuff but…" he shrugged "I hope they were joking…" His smile was hopeful; Harry was also eyeing him with interest.

"It's nothing to worry about, trust me on that. You do have to sit on a stool in front of the school, but for no more than a couple of minutes at most." He could tell them they only had to wear a hat, but why spoil the surprise?

Ron let out a sigh of relief and collapsed ungracefully back into the seat, "Oh thank Merlin! I'm gonna kill my brother's, they were going on about wrestling trolls!" He pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes, before running them through his hair turning it to an even bigger mess than before.

Laughter burst out of him before he could stop it. "TROLLS? Merlin's drawers, they can't have first years wrestling trolls. They'd run out of kids!" He snorted a laugh again.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny! How was I supposed to know?" Ron was trying to frown at him, but the boy's mouth kept twitching at the sides. Harry was smiling slightly, and kept glancing between them both. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was worried as to how it would be received.

"Out with it Harry, what is it?" Draco said smiling at the nervous boy.

"Oh uhh, well we… we don't have to do like, like a test or something do we? I mean… I don't know any spells or anything. But I'm quite good at maths and science, if that, maybe that would help?"

"Maths? Science? " Ron was squinting carefully at Potter, "what's that? Is it a muggle thing?"

Red flushed the bespectacled boy's face, and he began fiddling with his hands. "Yeah, it's like maths is numbers and stuff. Adding and subtracting that sort of thing." After receiving an encouraging nod from both Ron and Draco, Harry continued sitting up straighter in his chair. "And science is all about how the world is. Like how animals, people and plants work. And the weather, and electricity and…"

He shifted forward on his seat eagerly, gesticulating with his hands. "We did this really cool thing with light, where we made a lamp-thing, using a battery and wires with clips and then made shadows and stuff."

"I have no idea what you just said, but that sounds awesome!" Said Ron grinning lopsidedly. "One question though…"

"Only one Weasley?" Draco teased lightly, "You have a better understanding of muggle technology than I do then!" All three were giggling now.

"Okay, yeah maybe more than one…" Ron said sheepishly "First one though, what exactly is a Batter-ray? Oh! And why do you need these wires with clips? And the shadows is that like the puppet show they sometimes do at fairs and stuff?"

"Well a _battery_ " Harry put extra emphasis on the pronunciation of the word, "holds electricity…"

Ron had opened his mouth, clearly going to ask what electricity was. " _Electricity_ " Again with the emphasis, "Is like energy, like lightning or something, you see?" Synchronised nodding all round. "Well you can use the energy in the _battery_ to make things work. The wires are like paths for the _electricity_. So the power goes from the _battery_ to the light bulb." At a look from both pureblood boys, Harry quickly explained, emphasised pronunciation included, a _light bulb._

"And then we put it in a box to direct the light, and could make shadows with our hands and paper cut outs."

During the explanation Draco had discovered the rest of a chocolate frog in his pocket and was distractedly chewing off the head. "So like a Lumos, but using the _battery_ " a small nod from Potter at his pronunciation, "as a power source, instead of a wizards magic. That's pretty cool, I wonder if we can have a go? Though I think Hogwarts has a dampening field around it that prevents muggle stuff working. Do you think I can get a book on this?"

Harry was nodding enthusiastically, "Yeah, I think they have them in shops and stuff. We had them at school, but you couldn't take them unless you had a library card."

Dare he say it? Draco was having fun! The terrible twosome weren't actually that bad, in fact he was rather enjoying chatting to them. It didn't take long for Weasley to start talking about his home, with Draco interjecting small things about wizarding households. Potter was passing round some Bertiebots Beans whilst they chatted about their upbringings.

Draco tried to play down his own experiences; he didn't want them to think he was boasting if he spoke about his privileged life. He did mention that he lived in a large manor house, and that he was an only child. He mentioned having house elves and he could tell from Ron's face that the boy realised that he was from old money.

He was saved from the conversation about house elves, by the timely entrance of one Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. They all went silent as they stared at each other.

"Alright Granger?" He smirked, "Bertiebot?" He offered out the sweets currently in his hand. She groaned in response, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. He turned to the other boys, "I just have this effect on women" he joked with a wink. They laughed uncertainly, watching Hermione as she hovered in the doorway.

"No, thank you Draco. I'm trying to help Neville find his toad" leaning towards him, _"what are you even doing in here anyway?"_ She breathed into his ear. He vaguely heard Ron tell Neville, that they still hadn't seen his toad, not since the last time he asked.

" _I just sort of stumbled in, accidently"_

Hermione rolled her eyes again and flicked the side of his ear. "Minister!" He all but shouted indignantly, before choking on his words at her wide-eyed look. Turning slowly, he clocked that the other three boys had stopped talking and were watching them curiously.

"Ah gentlemen! Allow me introduce Miss Hermione Granger. Hermione this is Ronald Weasley and Harry…" He paused, well aware that Harry hadn't given him his last name.

"Oh um, Harry Potter" The boy shuffled slightly in his seat, a slight blush rising to his face.

Longbottom's eyes widened slightly and darted to Harry's hairline, searching for the lightning bolt scar. Draco thought he played it off very well, raising only a single eyebrow before tilting his head in a very 'oh, okay that cool' kind of way.

Hermione was something else though; she was eyeing the dirt smudge on Ron's face with pursed lips and didn't even react to Harry's name drop. " _Pleasure"_ she drawled, before turning to Harry with a small smile.

After a few minutes of idle chatting, during which Hermione revealed that she was a muggleborn, was nervous about the new world she was entering and that she too had done the _light bulb_ project, Draco insisted that he help Neville and go look for the toad.

"Wouldn't worry about it," Ron Interrupted "It'll turn up before we get to Hogwarts. Someone will find it and make sure it gets to you."

"No harm in trying though is there?" Draco spoke brightly, clapping his hands together and heading into the corridor.

There were less people milling about, most had returned to their carriages to get ready for the approach to Hogsmead station. Neville shuffled into the corridor after him, smiling shyly. Shortly followed by Hermione who, on her way out, told the boys to get into their school robes and Ron to clean his nose.

"What?" she spoke sharply, after seeing his raised eyebrows. "They need to get ready!"

"Uh huh"

"They do!" Raising her nose in the air Hermione led the way down the train, Neville and him trailing after her.

"Sure thing Granger"

She was chewing slightly on the inside of her cheek, a small frown on her face. Trying to ignore his growing smirk. He decided to cut her some slack and fell back into pace beside Neville. The poor sod looked almost distraught about his toad.

They spent the rest of the train ride asking people about Longbottom's toad, and the boy himself told him all about how his uncle had dropped him out a window; and then got him Trevor as a congratulations. That was a little bit shocking; Draco couldn't imagine anyone trying that on him. Maybe if he hadn't shown magic at a very young, his Father may have resorted to the chuck him out a window method. He'd like to think not, but future actions would make him a bit weary in that regard.

Avoiding the clamour of students, Draco leapt off the train, waving Jauntily to Hermione and Neville as they were swallowed by a swarm of students. Chuckling to himself at the indignant look on Hermione's face, he made his way towards the giant man waving a lamp around. As the cry of 'first years' rattled around in his head, he prayed to any deities still functioning that this was the last time he would have to make this damnable boat trip.

Half a soggy hour later, he and the rest of the first years were trudging their way up the steps to the entrance hall. He barely had the energy to act surprised at the ghost entrance, "Ah… Oh no, such surprise… Gasp" This all said in monotone as he yawned slightly. This earned him a kick from Hermione, who had slinked up behind him.

"Honestly Minister, who knew you were so violent?"

"Part of my charm." She smiled sweetly at him, "I've been thinking"

"Dangerous"

A smack on the arm this time, "I'VE BEEN THINKING," she repeated with emphasis on her words, almost daring him to interrupt again. "About where to meet tonight. If we are sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, it might be a bit tricky to get to each other without being caught."

"Well there is a passageway that leads almost directly to the seventh floor from the Slytherin corridor. Room of requirement?"

"Is there really? Okay, meet you there at half eleven? Allowing for any patrols, Peeves and anything else that might go wrong."

Nodding in agreement, they walked side by side as they approached the great hall, filing into place with the other first years.

Just let the sorting hat place him in Slytherin this time. Then he could move on from this day and work out how the bloody hell they were going to live the rest of their lives. He watched as Granger got sorted into Gryffindor again, she nodded encouragingly at him as she took her seat.

"Malfoy, Draco"

And here we go again. The hat slipped over his head and before he got a chance to layout his arguments, the hat had yelled Slytherin. Really he was a little insulted; it didn't even have a chat with him. McGonagall whipped the hat off his head, and he trudged over to the Slytherin table plonking down heavily.

Only a few more hours and he would be sneaking out to meet up with Hermione Granger. What a way his life was going, if only Father could see him now. He sat there laughing to himself, happily snacking during the feast, whilst the other members of his house gave him funny looks.

Oh well, who gives a shit?


	12. Chapter 12

**And here we go again!**

 **Hermione's point of view, some sneaking and sparks ;D**

Hermione was getting rather bored of her first day feast. The same conversation with Percy could only keep her going so long. So it was with some surprise that she overheard Ron talking to Harry and Neville about Draco.

"I thought he was alright, you know? But he got put in Slytherin… There's not a witch or wizard who went dark that wasn't in Slytherin."

"Really?" Harry spoke in a quiet voice, peering over Ron's head to get a better look at the Slytherin table. "But He seemed really nice, and… never mind"

 _And the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin,_ was the rest of that unspoken sentence. Slytherin prejudice, well Hermione wasn't going to stand for that rubbish.

She snorted "What a load of rubbish! Honestly, you can't really believe that someone is evil based on his or her house? Honestly I thought wizards were more evolved."

Ron's face flushed heatedly, "Well what do you know about it? You'd never even heard of Hogwarts before your letter!"

She drew herself up "I can read you know, Merlin himself was a Slytherin which you'd know if you picked up a book once in a while." And pulling out her best impersonation of Mrs Weasley, "I thought that you would be more accepting of others Ronald and make up your own mind about them and not cave to others prejudice." She held her imposing stare, until the ginger boy deflated.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess…" He grumbled, thoughtfully looking at the Slytherin table, shoulders hunched slightly.

Nodding in satisfaction, she turned back to her conversation only to find Percy watching her warily. His shoulders were also hunched and he had ducked his head as though trying to appear smaller. "Um, where were we?" she spoke pleasantly, jolting Percy who shook his head bewilderedly then straightened up again.

The feast continued as normal and, with Dumbledore's final words and a half-hearted attempt at the Hogwarts school song, they all marched out of the hall towards their respective dormitories. She caught a glimpse of Draco and he laughed and waved at her. She flipped him off and he seemed delighted with that, laughing harder and sending back his own two-fingered salute, before vanishing into the bowels of Hogwarts.

Three million flights of shifting stairs, multiple trips through tapestries and one altercation with Peeves, finally led them to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Percy stuck out his chest nose in the air and loudly proclaimed "Caput Draconis".

After they all scrambled in through the portrait hole, Hermione bid good night to the boys before following Lavender and the other girls up the spiral staircase to the top, where their dorm awaited.

They were all a bit groggy and tired from such a long day, so after quick introductions, they all got ready for bed. Hermione knew she would be spending the next seven to eight years with these girls and wanted to make a good first impression. She made a conscious effort to smile and engage with the others, whilst meticulously getting ready for bed.

She was a bit ashamed to say, that the first time around she had not really given them much of a chance, thinking them immature. Now however, she could see that they were just children, excited and nervous about being in a new place. Lavender and Parvarti were always going to be insatiable gossips, but they were really nice girls. Fey and Kellah she didn't know very well, but they were always pleasant to her. Maybe the first few months didn't have to be so lonely for her again. That and there was always Draco…

Thinking of, she took her wand out and quickly set a charm to wake her up at quarter past eleven, just in case she fell asleep. She slid the wand under her pillow and paused, Fey was watching her curiously.

"Just setting an alarm for the morning!" She smiled sheepishly, causing Fey's jaw to drop.

"Oh you have to show me that! How come you know how to do it? Did your mum teach you? Oh I'm so envious! Mum wouldn't let me have a go at ANY spells!" the girl had sat herself down on the corner of Hermione's bed drawing the attention of the others in the room.

"Actually" Deep breath, they don't know you're an adult. "I'm muggleborn… I got a book on simple spells for beginners and tried a few on the train on the way up, you know, just to see if I could?"

This elicited lots of excited mutterings. She ended up getting the book from her trunk and spent the next half hour teaching the other girls how to cast the tempest charm. She left the beginner book on her side table, and told the others to help themselves. Never let it be said that Hermione Granger discouraged learning. She knew all those spells by heart anyway; she had from the time she brought the book after her first trip to Diagon alley.

In no time at all, gentle snores echoed around their tower room, each child exhausted from the long day. Hermione herself dozed intermittently, too worried about missing her 'night-time meeting with Malfoy'. Oh if her younger… Previous younger? Self could see her now! She'd give herself quite the telling off.

A small smile pulled at her lips, as her wand began to vibrate and make a small chime. She silenced it quickly, throwing off the covers and chucking on her dressing gown and slippers. Closing her curtains and charming them shut, just in case, she slipped from the room like a ghost.

She dashed down the spiral staircase, ears straining and eyes wide. Her heart was beating traitorously loud in her eardrums, as she glided across the common room, just another shadow in the dark.

The difficult bit would be getting in and out without the Fat Lady Knowing. Hermione had come up with a sneaky trick that should, should being the operative word here; allow her to open the frame without waking the portrait. Approaching the back of the frame quietly, eyes scanning the common room for any observant; Hermione listened for the Fat Lady's snores.

Judging the portrait to be asleep, Hermione pulled out some loose strands of her hair and twisted them together. Carefully lowering to the base of the painting, she stuck the strands of hair by one end to the corner of the frame. Quietly she pushed open the frame, and slid from the portrait hole to the floor at the base of the frame, hand gripping the other end of the hairs tightly.

Now for the charm, keeping her voice low she attached the hair to the outside of the frame, creating a link. "Custodi aperta porta." The hair flared gold for a moment before dulling back to her usual brown. There, that should allow her, and only her, to enter the common room without the assistance of the Fat Lady.

Spinning her wand and tapping it on her head, Hermione disillusioned herself. She moved swiftly across the corridor, the cold seeping through her slippers. Shadows were jumping out at her as she rapidly descended the staircase and slipped through the passage that would lead her directly to the seventh floor corridor.

Halting behind the tapestry that concealed the passageway, Hermione cast the revelio charm. A small sigh escaped as the result came back negative. Carefully, just in case, she slid from behind the heavy material hoping that it would look like a gust of wind, if there were anybody there.

The corridor was silent and dark.

Almost holding her breath, Hermione stepped up lightly to the hanging tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. She began pacing, 'I need a room that can only be accessed by Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.' Three times she paced, three times she repeated that mantra, picturing the old DA room as she did.

The Tapestry began to warp; a dark wooden door appeared, growing into the space previously occupied by Barnabas. It was the same as the DA door, metal hinge accents and all. Feeling a little giddy, she reached forward to grasp the doorknob.

"Very impressive Minister!"

"Holy SHIT" She spun round to see Draco standing there, gazing almost through her at the door. The little sod wasn't even disillusioned, just loitering about in his bright green pyjamas where anybody could spot him. He looked far too pleased with himself.

She opened her mouth to berate him, when they heard scuffling footsteps rushing in their direction. Without further ado, Hermione grabbed the front of Draco's shirt and dragged him bodily through the door into the Room of Requirement. Slamming the door behind her and pressing her ear to it, she waited with bated breath for someone to try the door.

Nothing.

"Calm down Minister, not like anybody knows about this room currently anyway." Draco was adjusting his button up pyjama top, frowning down at the creases now marring the front.

Hermione pursed her lips and gave him 'the look', to which he responded by sticking out his tongue. It was difficult to keep a straight face, as he looked utterly adorable. His pale blond hair stuck up in all directions at the back, and his pyjamas had his initials monogrammed on the pocket. He even had little green slippers to match.

"Uh, I can't even stay mad at you. Look at you! You're too adorable!" She waved her hand at him before stomping past and heading to the centre of the training room.

He quickly followed her, batting his eyelids and pursing his lips, using his hands to frame his face. She swiftly kicked his leg and he stopped pouting to laugh.

"Granger! You've given me more bruises than my whole Quidditch career ever did!" He stated jumping on one leg and clutching his shin, sniggering. Looking quite ridiculous, in Hermione's opinion.

"Stop exaggerating Draco" rolling her eyes Hermione plonked to the ground, crossing her legs.

Still smirking at her, Draco joined her on the floor, sitting with his legs out and leaning back on his palms. His gaze travelled over the room, lingering on the practice duellers a thoughtful look on his face. He cleared his throat, glancing at her quickly.

"This is Potter's training room isn't it? From fifth year?" He sent her a grin that was almost a wince. "I recognise it… y'know, from when…"

"When you came blasting in wands blazing? Yeah I remember. God you were such a twat…"

"Hey! I resemble that remark!"

A comfortable silence fell between the two former enemies, as they both turned to watch the clock on the far side of the room.

Ten minutes.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

They turned to each other and grasped each other's forearms tightly.

Two.

Draco's knuckles were white against her dressing gown, as he clung to her tightly. His face drawn and pale.

One.

Both sets of eyes watched as, in almost slow motion, the minute hand shifted onto the number twelve. The first chime made them both jump, hands clutching tighter as they spared each other a worried glance. Then they waited with baited breath as the rest of the chimes followed.

Sparks began to travel over Draco's body, bright little flashes of light. They jumped across to Hermione and sped over her own skin, tickling as they went. A tense minute passed where they waited for the horrible disintegration and pressure to begin, but nothing happened.

The sparks settled down, sinking back to their skin as the minute hand ticked on. Fingers still clenched tightly Hermione met Draco's eyes.

"Do you think it worked? Should we?" she gestured down with her head, "Should we let go?"

"Can't stay here forever Minister, as much as I'm sure you'd like to…" He flashed her a small grin, but his mouth was turned down at the sides and his eyebrows creased slightly.

With a deep breath Hermione released her grip, Draco's face contorted with panic before he too let go and their arms released.

Nothing.

"Oh thank Merlin" Draco dropped back onto the floor and lay there in a dramatic little heap. His body shook with laughter, and he sighed in relief. "Oh man, I was worried that wouldn't work! Granger you are a Merlin damned genius."

"Why thank you Mr Malfoy." She said primly, shifting her bum across the floor to lie down next to him. "It's nice to be recognised for my intellect."

"Pleasure is all mine"

They lay there for a good 10 minutes in silence. Now they had that little problem sorted, on to the much bigger problem.

"What do you think we should do…" "Granger about the Dark Lo….."

They both paused and Hermione snorted a laugh, "Great minds think alike, ay Draco?"

"From you that is a high compliment indeed! But yeah, I think having him attached to Professor Quirrell is too good an opportunity for us to pass up."

"Agreed" she sighed, "If we can destroy all his Horcruxes we could kill him before the end of the school year."

"I assume you know what they all are?" Draco turned towards her, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Of course", she nodded looking over to him, "The problem is not what they are or where they are, it's destroying them. We had the sword of Gryffindor before."

"So lets go ask Dumbledore for the sword, we can just get the Horcruxes and dump them on his desk or something!" He waved his hand whilst he spoke, looking hopeful.

"Wouldn't work, Harry uses the sword to kill the basilisk in second year. It's _that_ venom that gives the sword the power to kill the bits of Voldemort's soul."

"Okay, okay, so lets get the sword… Go kill the basilisk, _then_ use it to kill the Dark Lord's nasty soul bits!" he splayed his hands in a 'ta da' gesture.

"We've also got to get a soul fragment out of Harry".

"Fucking Potter!" Draco dropped back to the floor; he really was a dramatic little shit.

"Lets just focus on getting the ones we can and destroying them, or at least getting them all in one place. Do you have access to your aunt Bellatrix's vault?"

"Uh, maybe? I think Mother is current Primary on the Lestrange estate, being the closest living relative not in Azkaban. I think she has Auntie Bella's wand too, if that helps?"

"Could be useful if we have to sneak in. Think you can convince you mother to remove Helga Hufflepuff's cup from the vault?"

"Probably, might have to show her some memories but I'm confident she'll do it."

"Excellent, we'll need Sirius to gain access to the Black house for the locket. Then it's a matter of finding the Gaunt house for the ring and finding the diadem in the room of hidden things."

"And Potter"

She smacked Draco's shoulder. "We're not killing Harry!"

"I mean taking the soul out! Bloody Hell Granger! The Dark Lord couldn't kill Potter, what chance have I got?"

"Good"

"Great"

"Fine" Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, enough of this… We need to get back to our common rooms and get some sleep. She sat up stiffly, "You'll be alright getting back?"

Draco gave her an odd look, "Well I am a delicate young thing, but I think I'll make it." This earned him another smack and a laugh. "Same time tomorrow Hermione?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"Sure Draco, I'll see what I can do to make meeting up easier for us both. Maybe if we clue in some of the teachers? Not quite yet though."

"Alright, Night Granger." Draco leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek, "Don't miss me too much!" He ran out the door as she made to swipe at him again.

"Git!" She muttered under her breath, as she disillusioned herself and followed him quietly out the door. The sod was already gone when she entered the corridor, leaving her to navigate her way through the darkened castle in eerie silence.

Once she reached the Fat Lady, she was pleased to see that the portrait was empty. That makes her job easier. Moving with purpose Hermione traced her fingers along the bottom of the frame until she felt the strands of her hair. "Open" she whispered.

She felt a small vibration pass along the strands, and the frame came away from the wall ever so slightly. Double-checking her surroundings, Hermione quietly slid into the hole and then tiptoed up the spiral staircase.

In no time at all she was tucked back up in bed, slipping into a deep sleep. Tomorrow would be the first official day back at school, and to be honest, for the first time Hermione didn't really care about performing well. Guess life is just funny that way.


	13. Chapter 13

This is most of the first day at Hogwarts!

A very long chapter where Draco makes friends.

Draco's point of view.

Have fun! And as ever let me know what you think!

* * *

Draco pelted it and barely made it round the corner, skidding to a stop, before the door opened and an invisible Hermione stepped into the corridor. He heard her sigh, before the distortion that was her body stealthily vanished behind another tapestry.

Letting out a chuckle, Draco disillusioned himself and stepped quickly along the hallway. He was slightly giddy and kept laughing as he practically skipped to the end of the hall. Slipping behind a portrait of a sleeping sorceress holding a snake, he descended a small, stone, spiral staircase. It was cramped and very dark, and led directly to the corridor outside of the Slytherin common room.

Where Filch was pacing angrily, muttering to himself as his hell-spawn cat followed him back and forth. Draco froze in place, holding his breath as he waited for the damnable squib to move on. Mrs Norris paused for a moment, ears twitching in his direction as her face turned to stare at where he had plastered himself against the wall that had just solidified behind him.

 _'Shit'_

Slowly the mangy cat began to slink in his direction, her nose waving back and fourth as she searched for him. Filch, luckily, had not noticed his cat's distraction and grumpily stomped off towards the upper levels, calling behind him as he went.

"Come, my Sweet"

Draco held down a gag. Mrs Norris shot him a look before trotting off after the caretaker. Draco waited for a moment, until he could no longer hear Filch grumbling, until he moved very quickly to the nondescript section of wall that was the entrance to his common room.

 _"Runespoor"_ He whispered, bouncing from one foot to the other as the wall faded away, revealing the passageway to the common room. Quickly dashing inside, Draco released his lungful of air. That was a close call. He'll have to let Granger know that Filch was wandering round past midnight; it wouldn't do for either of them to get caught.

Tiptoeing quietly across the darkened common room, eyes automatically flicking across the dark windows that held back the lake, Draco headed down the passageway that led to his dorm. Silently pushing open the door, he slinked across the room dodging Zambini's bed and carefully climbing into his own. Charming the curtains closed, he settled down and waited for sleep to come.

Tomorrow was going to be a very weird day.

A small smile crept onto his face as he recalled Hermione's face after he had kissed her goodnight. She was honestly way too much fun to wind up, he was going to enjoy working with her this year. In fact, it would be wonderful if he could partner up with her in the classes they shared. Would certainly make his workload lighter and give him a legitimate reason for meeting up. A friendship with Potter and his fellow Gryffindors' would also add to that convenience. Plus his father had encouraged him to gain Potter's favour, so he couldn't discipline him about actually following through on that front.

Draco fell asleep feeling rather optimistic about the future. Knowing what they did, he and Hermione would change everything. And why couldn't he have some fun doing it?

Draco jerked awake, grabbing the hand that was shaking him and twisting his body, pinning them to the bed, wand under their throat.

"HOLY SHIT! Malfoy! Get off me!"

Draco blinked slowly, waiting for his surroundings coming into focus. When it did, he quickly released Blaise from under him and dropped his wand onto the bed sheepishly.

"What the hell Malfoy?" The agitated boy spoke sharply, backing away from Draco quickly. Blaise looked a little shaken, and was breathing a little quick.

"Sorry Zambini, you startled me is all." Draco checked the clock on his beside cabinet, "Cheers for waking me up though, don't want to be late for my first day. Seriously, I appreciate it." Draco tried for his most sincere face and gave Blaise a friendly smile.

This seemed to calm the boy down slightly, as he gave Draco a small smile and a laugh. "Don't know what you thought you were going to do with that anyway," Blaise said, jerking his head towards Draco's wand.

"Ha ha, Yeah…" Letting out a nervous laugh, Draco began to gather his uniform for the day. He glanced around the empty room and looked to Blaise questioningly.

"Oh yeah, everyone else is already up. You're the last one."

Draco pursed his lips at this and frowned. "You know what, this is silly, call me Draco."

Blaise looked surprised at this, before nodding slowly, "Uh sure, Blaise then."

"Awesome! I'll get ready an be down in a bit, see you at breakfast yeah?" Without waiting for a reply, Draco dashed passed the perplexed boy and headed to the showers.

Less than fifteen minutes later, and Draco was pelting it up to the Great Hall securing his tie in place as he ran. He slowed his pace just before entering the Hall and walked in at a calm stroll. He immediately spotted Granger's busy head of hair; she was single-mindedly shovelling down breakfast whilst studying what looked to be her timetable.

His eyes met Potters and he gave a jaunty wave to him as he strolled past. Harry immediately responded with a grin and a wave of his own. Weasley turned to see who Harry was waving too and gave Draco a small smile and a wave of his own. It was certainly odd to have the Gryffindor's treating him in a friendly manner. Granted he only escalated the hostility between them all when they were younger, previously younger, the first time round.

Smiling to himself he plonked down on the table next to Goyle and began piling up his plate with fried goodness. Blaise nodded to him across the table with a smile as he began shovelling the food into his mouth. Most everyone else had already finished their breakfast and they were looking through their timetables.

A shadow fell across Draco, as he was finishing up his breakfast. Turning round his eyes met those of his grumpy potions master, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mr Malfoy, so good of you to join us this morning… Have a little trouble getting up did we?" with quick precise movements a timetable was presented to Draco.

"Cheers Professor" He smiled happily at Snape, who seemed quite taken aback at his chipper attitude. "Guess I'll see you in class then?"

The corner of Snape's mouth twitched into an amused smirk. Some of the older years were watching the exchange warily, eyes darting between the two of them. "So it would seem. Do try to be on time Mr Malfoy." With that he swept from the hall, robes billowing behind him, such a penchant for the dramatic.

Draco quickly scanned over his timetable; he had Herbology later so at least he could talk to Hermione. In fact, it looked like he had at least one class or free period a day that he shared with her. Well that would at least save them the trouble of trying to speak everyday, and they could probably work together on assignments.

Everyone else was already making his or her way out of the great hall, and Draco raced after them to grab the stuff he'd need for the day. Surreptitiously casting a feather light charm on his bag, Draco stuffed it with his schoolbooks. Maybe later he could cast an undetectable extension on it as well, better to be prepared right?

His first two periods were about as interesting as that flobber worm class in third year. Dear gods, he was going to have to sit through years of tedious theory and practical work that he could do in his sleep. He also had the added joy of holding back his skill and acting mundanely average at everything. At least he had something to occupy his mind, removing that no-nose, snake-face from existence. Now that was going to take some serious puzzling and skill. Speaking of Granger, she was waiting for him outside the Great Hall.

He walked up to her, shooing away Crabbe and Goyle who had been following him all day. Blaise was walking past and, without thinking about it too much, Draco grabbed his shoulder and dragged him over to meet Hermione.

"Blaise! Come meet my new best friend Hermione Granger. Hermione this is Blaise, say hi Blaise."

Looking completely lost, Blaise muttered out a small "Hi" before staring at Draco with a bemused expression.

"Hermione, this is my mate Blaise. He woke me up this morning; I would have been late but for this wonderful fellow right here! Can you believe it?"

"Oh no, I'm so sorry Blaise…" Hermione sent Zambini a look of sympathy, "Now you're stuck with him."

Surprising him, Blaise snorted a laugh and shot Hermione a grin "Oh if I'd known that I would have just left him!"

"Hey!" He put on his best look of indignation and made to storm off into the great hall.

"Ah ah ah, I need to speak to you Malfoy." Hermione had grabbed his sleeve, jolting him to a stop.

"Well you obviously don't need my help now Draco, see you at lunch, ' _mate'_ ". Blaise dodged past him saluting as he went, "Nice you meet you Hermione!"

"You too Blaise." She spun on her heels as soon as the boy was out of sight and began dragging Draco down the corridor.

"Ah, easy Minister! My clothes are designer!"

"You got them from Madame Malkins the same as me you dolt"

"Huh, maybe they just look better on me?"

Draco flinched, closing his eyes and expecting a smack for that comment. When he didn't feel anything her opened them again carefully to see Hermione watching him with an amused expression. Coughing and straightening his robes to cover up the flinch, even though she definitely saw it, Draco raised his eyebrows and stared down at the witch.

"Oh don't look at me like that. I don't always hit you, people are going to think you have a complex." He snorted in response and she rolled her eyes. "Look, I made you something." Reaching into her bag, Hermione withdrew a small flat package that looked suspiciously like a book. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string.

She held it in front of his face and waved it back and fourth, "Do you want it?" He folded his arms and looked away pouting. "You know you want it Draco…" His eyes flicked back to the, certainly a book, parcel then away. She moved it closer to his face and was practically tapping his nose with it now. It was difficult to hold back the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I can see you smiling!" she crowed triumphantly, as he gave in and grinned.

"Okay. I want it."

She handed over the present, oozing satisfaction and smirking at him. He quickly ripped off the outer layer to reveal a pretty nondescript brown notebook. He flicked his eyes to Granger, who seemed to almost vibrate with excitement, then back to his new possession. Carefully he opened the book, and then almost dropped it in shock. He flicked through the pages rapidly, almost not believing his eyes.

"Is this?"

"Yep"

"How did you even?" He stared dumbstruck at the witch before him. It was just like Potters map. Every page related to a different section of the school, he could see himself and Granger as little dots standing in the corridor Just off the Great Hall.

"I've had years to study Harry's map, so I know how it was made. Did it this morning during classes. There is a guide at the front, see?" She took the book from him and flipped the pages. "So you can search wherever you want. The first page is automatically set to your immediate surroundings for ease of use. It is voice activated too."

"This is honestly the coolest thing anyone has every given me." He met her eyes seriously; she shuffled her feet slightly, turning pink.

"Yes, well. Thought it would be a good idea. There is… um, a section at the back that is similar to what I made on our first day, for communicating with each other. I have a matching book, so um yeah…" She sent him an awkward smile, "Just need to register it to you, like how I did before."

Draco handed the book over instantly and she traced her wand over the front cover. She took his hand and placed the palm flat over the front cover, it burned for a few seconds before cooling off. She promptly passed it back to him. He clutched it to his chest protectively.

"What is it goes missing?" he asked suddenly worried, "what if someone takes it?"

"Ah no don't worry," she waved her hands at him, "put a little spell on it of my own making, 'Tenetur redire'. 'Cause it's bound to you now, it'll always return. You'll find it back in your pocket if you loose it."

She dashed away from him as a group of students passed them in the corridor, shouting that she'd see him in Herbology. In a daze Draco meandered his way into the Great Hall and, once again, plonked down at the Slytherin table for lunch. Hermione was most certainly the most brilliant witch in the history of the wizarding world and she was his friend. She was right; she was stuck with him now. He felt giddy and excited, eating one handed because the other wouldn't let go of his precious book.

Enduring a bit of light-hearted teasing from Blaise and some curious stares from his other housemates, lunch went by rather quickly. Before he knew it, they were all stumbling on mass down the grassy slopes that led to the greenhouses.

The Gryffindors were already waiting outside Greenhouse number one, fidgeting and shoving one another good-naturedly. Hermione was standing slightly to the side of the rowdy bunch frowning at them. He went straight over to her and gave her a shove with his shoulder.

"Lighten up Minister, it's only the first day." He gave her his best dazzling smile. Which got him an amused smile in response. Blaise came over to stand with them and was shortly followed by Longbottom. Who glanced at them nervously, before Draco gestured for him to join them while they waited for Professor Sprout.

After some introductions, Draco was happy to let the others talk as he watched the rest of the class. Harry and Ron kept shooting them glances, so did Pansy actually. She was frowning at him from amongst the other Slytherins, and he gave her a shrug and a 'what can I do?' face.

Sprout appeared in the doorway, covered in filth. Draco tried to back away as she began gesturing, flinging her hands in every direction, little flecks of dirt flying off. Hermione tutted at him and pushed him into the greenhouse. _"Noooo"_ he whined softly, _"Hermione, it's touching me! Oh gods there is dirt on my shoes!"_

He could hear Blaise laughing next to him and he swore Neville chuckled. When he turned to look at the plump boy, he was gazing about innocently. That toad. Hermione kept pushing him into the class, and he leaned back more and more onto her as she huffed behind him.

"Alright class, welcome to your first Herbology lesson! It's lovely to meet you all, I am Professor Sprout head of Hufflepuff house and your teacher for the next seven years, hopefully anyway!" She chuckled at her own joke as the class laughed awkwardly. "Right everyone" she clapped her hands together, flinging yet more dirt. Draco cringed back again and Hermione held him in place with her elbow.

"Grab yourself an apron and pull on your gloves! We're gonna be potting bouncing bulbs!" There was a stampede, as everyone ran to grab the aprons piled on a wooden table in the corner. "FOUR TO A TABLE PLEASE", Sprout yelled over the excited chatter of the class.

Blaise leisurely followed behind Neville and Draco, the latter of whom was being dragged along by Hermione. They huddled round a table, gazing suspiciously at wooden box in the centre. They then spent the next half hour filling large trays with 'disgusting filth' and trying to shove the lively bulbs, which had been hidden in the box, into the repulsive dirt.

Hermione and Neville were having the most success. Neville, despite having been hit in the face by a bulb pretty early on, was grinning from ear to ear at having successfully planted most of them. Mainly because Draco had to be forced into even touching one, and Blaise was quite happy to let the Gryffindors take the lead.

Draco had been making a whole tirade of sarcastic comments and he could tell that Hermione was getting annoyed with him. Seeing as he had planted two bulbs and she had done at least triple that. After a particularly scathing comment about useless skills that he would never use, and stating that he'd just pay someone else to do it, Hermione looked ready to hex him.

 _"Will you stop acting like a child?"_ She hissed lowly at him. _"It's only a bit of mud."_ Her eyes were focused on her work and any observant would not have noticed her speak to him.

He was trying, he really was. He had held back a particularly nasty comment about Neville when he got smacked in the face. _"I'm trying Minister. It just keeps bubbling up and coming out!"_ He breathed back to her. He gave her a grimace and shrugged helplessly.

She looked thoughtful at that, nodding absently at him. " _Some sort of muscle memory? Emotional memory?"_ she muttered to herself. _"Okay, yeah. Me too. I guess I can let you off"_ she sent him a sheepish smile. _"I'm having trouble keeping my hand down."_ She admitted with a red face. _"Transfiguration was a nightmare, didn't even know I'd raised my hand at first."_

 _"You think it's permanent?"_ He made no comment on that, which she looked grateful for.

 _"Could be? Might change the further we go along."_ She eyed him sideways, _"You'll have to try and behave yourself."_ She was smiling cheekily at him.

He knocked his shoulder into hers playfully, _"Never"._

They finished up the planting, Draco putting in a bit more effort along with a reluctant Blaise. As they had finished before the rest of the class, Sprout allowed them to tidy up and chat around their table. Draco took this opportunity to pull faces at Harry and Ron, as they struggled with the last few of their bulbs. One of them bounced off the table, Draco caught it and chucked it back rapidly. Potter's hand shot out and plucked it out of the air, surprising everyone but him and Hermione.

"Nice catch Potter" He grinned.

"Nice throw Malfoy" Harry shot back, smirking cheekily back at him.

Sprout's call to stop what they were doing and begin packing up, snapped their attention back to front of the class. Sprout gave them a short lecture on the bulbs and assigned them a short essay on the basic care of the plant. They would be looking after the plants in their next classes as a side project along side other magical flora.

Hermione was frantically scribbling in a workbook diary. He was fairly certain she was making a note of every assignment they would receive for the next year. Why did it not surprise him that her memory was perfect? At least that would make this year easier.

He didn't really pay attention as Sprout gave everyone on his table 5 house points. But Blaise looked particularly smug and Neville was almost euphoric; they all got smiles and enthusiastic nods from their classmates, causing a warm feeling in Draco's stomach.

After class was dismissed, he trudged up to the castle with an odd mix of Slytherins and Gryffindors. He introduced Blaise to Harry and Ron and the boys began happily chatting about Quidditch on the way up. Neville was sticking close to Hermione and they were both talking excitedly about what they could learn in Herbology next.

He was strolling along amongst them all, the warm feeling from earlier still present, as he looked about happily. This was it, the change he was looking for. He glanced about looking for Pansy; she was walking with Daphne occasionally flipping her hair. Theo was walking next to them and looked a little bored.

He inclined his head as Theo caught his eye and the boy jogged up to him, smiling gratefully. Draco then started talking loudly about how good the Holyhead Harpies were as a team, causing Ron to whip round and start preaching about the Chudley Cannons. This drew Theo into the debate about their favourite teams. He dropped back next to Hermione and pushed Neville forward to join the conversation. Which he did, quietly stating that he liked the Appleby Arrows.

Blaise then threw his arm round the boy enthusiastically, "Thank you! Someone with taste!"

"I see what you're doing…" Hermione said smiling at him fondly.

"You agree?" He was a bit worried that she would berate him for changing things so dramatically.

"I'm actually proud."

"Stop it minister I'll blush", In fact he was pretty certain he was turning red. Her eyebrow went up amusement written all over her face. "Too late?"

"Too late." She laughed. "I'll see you later yeah? Maybe we can work on our homework in the library before dinner?"

"Is that just the ones we've received so far, or the rest of the year?" He joked.

"Saw that did you? Better to just do the assigned ones I think."

He nodded in agreement. Wouldn't do for someone, read: Teacher, to see them working on homework from the future.

They reached the entrance hall and began the climb up the stairs to the upper corridor. The Gryffindor's all split off on the first floor and began heading to Binn's class, whilst Draco and the rest of the Slytherins carried on up the next two flights.

He glanced back and caught Hermione miming writing; he gave her a 'thumbs up' before running to catch up with Blaise and Theo.

Believe it or not, Draco was quite looking forward to going to the library later. He entered the Charms classroom with a spring in his step and with a lighter heart then he had had in years.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay so as I split the day in half, I worked hard to get this chapter finished as soon as I could for you!**

 **Hermione this time!**

 **Let me know what you like!**

 **All comments welcome.**

Hermione spent the whole of her lesson writing notes in her little map book to Draco. She was going to meet him after this class to work on their assignments and it was refreshing having someone who wanted to study with her.

Draco was responding sporadically, avoiding notice from Flitwick probably. He had drawn a funny little caricature of the charms professor that was waving its wand around and making little things float. He was rather good at drawing. It was almost endearing.

Switching from her notebook to her class notes, Hermione quickly checked over her points from the lesson. She had written them all down as soon as Binns began speaking, as her memory was almost perfect. Neville however, who had sat next to her, was having a hard time focusing on their ghostly teacher; he was staring unfocusedly at the front wall.

A quick glance around the room confirmed the similar state of the rest of her class. Ron had dropped his head to the desk and was lightly snoring. Harry was making a really good effort to take notes, but his head kept drooping and he jolted every few minutes. Hermione rolled her eyes, come exam time her notes would be worth their weight in gold.

'Binns has successfully knocked out my entire class'. She wrote, covering her words with little zeds. She charmed them to float about the sentence, growing and shrinking in size. She was rather proud of it, until Draco sent back a drawing of Binns floating around the page. A few cartoon children dropping into a pile as he passed.

 _"Show off"_ She muttered to herself, before writing that onto the page under his drawing.

"Sorry What?" Neville said from next to her, shaking his head and blinking owlishly.

"Nothing Neville, just reading out loud. Helps the information sink in, you know?" She smiled at him sweetly.

"You… Um you… Did you take notes, from the lesson? Only cause…" He started turning red, his shoulders hunching up in embarrassment.

Hermione decided to take pity on him. "It is rather hard to concentrate in here isn't it? If you like Neville you can copy my notes after dinner? I am rather good at focusing. And don't worry, you're not the only one." She inclined her head forward to indicate the rest of the class, who had not moved and inch.

Neville seemed to brighten up at this, sitting straighter in his chair. "Yeah," he said, "At least I'm not snoring." His eyes were on Ron, as the boy was now drooling onto his desk.

"True." She laughed. "At least you're awake… And not drooling!"

This caused Neville to laugh loudly, drawing the attention of the class. Binns however, didn't even notice and continued to drone on unaware he had lost the attention of the group. Hermione and Neville ducked their heads still sniggering.

The rest of the class began talking around them, seeing as Binns didn't notice the laughter from earlier. By the end of the lesson everyone was much more awake and chatting happily. Hermione had packed away her stuff, and was lazily leaning back in her chair as Neville was speaking to Harry across her. She smiled at them all fondly.

The Bell echoed through the room, causing a stampede as the students rushed to pack their bags and escape from the room. Hermione followed them calmly as they all headed up towards the Gryffindor tower. She however stopped at the base of the stairs and called out to Neville.

"I'll catch you at dinner Neville, I'm going to look for the library."

Neville made a little motion with his hands, asking if she wanted him to go. She waved him off and laughed at the look of relief on his face. He joined Seamus and Harry, joining their conversation about their home lives. Hermione watched as they all vanished up the next flight of stairs, sighing gently.

She then suddenly spun and dashed back across the first floor corridor, slipping into the Library quietly. She breathed in the smell of the room deeply, letting out a happy groan. God she had missed this library, nowhere else even came close. She could feel the excitement bubbling up and she did a little happy skip as she went to find a secluded table.

There was one in the far corner, near the goblin wars section to be precise, that she usually used as it was hardly ever disturbed. True to memory, this segment of the library was completely absent of any students. She dropped her bag onto the desk inelegantly, plopping into her seat in the same manner.

Drawing out her wand Hermione summoned her notes from her bag, as well as her relevant schoolbooks. She stacked the books neatly on the edge of her workspace before turning to her notes. She had transfigured some parchment into binders earlier that morning, it would be the best way to organise her notes. If not for her own use, then at least others could use them easily enough. She reached her arm into her bag, pushing aside stacks of books floating around in there. A small frown appeared on her face, as she couldn't feel the binders. Opening the lip of her bag wider Hermione reached her entire arm into the small satchel, feeling across the edges before gripping the edge of a binder and dragging it from the depths of her bag.

She hummed happily to herself and wiggled in satisfaction, carefully placing her notes from the day in the correct segments. She had created sections for each of her lessons, with a table of contents that would automatically update when she added new notes.

"What, in the name of Merlin, did you do to you bag Granger?"

Jumping out of her skin, she spun in place to find Draco standing there staring wide eyed at her bag. His eyes then slid across to her, both eyebrows raised. She squirmed under his gaze, before sticking her nose up and giving him a nonchalant shrug. "Undetectable extension charm" she said airily.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, reaching for it in a blur of movement. He had pulled it open and was now poking his lit wand into its depths. "Holy shit Hermione, I mean… Merlin, How big is it in here? I can do an extension charm, but this is ridiculous!" He began to almost climb into the bag, the whole of his upper body disappearing into it.

"Alright, alright. You've made your point! Get out my bag!" She began pulling him from said bag, as he started yodelling into the extended satchel.

"It has a bloody Echo!" He cried, waiving his arms as she finally pulled him free. His hair was dishevelled and his face slightly pink.

"Yes, yes your point being?" She began smoothing down his hair, tucking it back behind his ears as he continued to wave his arms.

"You… Honestly witch, you are so bloody impressive… I can't even! Why on earth are you… I can see why you're minister, I really can." He continued to babble, gesturing wildly at her, she made little humming noises of encouragement as she steered him into a chair.

"And don't get me started on that Salazar blessed book of absolutely mind-boggling magic! I can't even figure out how you did it! It's utterly beyond me!"

She gently pushed him down into the chair from behind, resting her hands on his shoulders. Gripping tightly with both her hands and leaning over, Hermione placed her lips against his cheek in a chaste kiss. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear, "That's quite a compliment Mr Malfoy."

Patting his head smartly she swept around the table and retook her seat. Draco was pouting at her from beneath his lashes, a pink stain spreading across his cheeks. He coughed smartly, adjusting the front of his school robes. "Yeah, well… It's a cool piece of magic. You're welcome."

He placed his own bag onto the table with a thud, and began pulling out his own school equipment. After he had emptied his bag, he placed it in front of Hermione reverently and gazed at her with hopefully wide eyes.

"I was going to do it myself, but to be honest, your spell is better…" he placed his hands together in prayer and raised them over his head whilst bowing in his chair. "Please oh pretty please Minister will you make my bag bigger on the inside?" He shot her a cheeky smirk from between his arms.

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at that, she raised her eyes to the ceiling, before grabbing the bag with a huff. "Well, seeing as you begged so nicely."

"Oh, thank you great and powerful Minister! Your kindness knows no bounds! May your hearth be ever burning and your cup overflowing."

"Git" she muttered at him, as he sat there grinning at her. She quickly passed her binder to him, "Here, my notes from today. You can get a head start on our homework; feel free to add your own notes. It's divided into sections."

She began casting a series of spells on the black bag, including but not limited to; and undetectable extension charm, a featherlight charm (that would account for the extra space), a muggle repelling charm and a clever little charm that turned the inside into a normal bag if someone else looked into it. She had added that one onto her own bag, but I guess seeing her with her whole arm in the bag sort of nulled it, good to know.

Draco was leaning on the table, propping his face up with on hand. He was most definitely not getting a start on their homework, and was in fact just watching her with an enraptured look on his face. She rolled her eyes at him, flinging his bag at his face, which he caught of course.

"Thanks Hermione," he said lowering the bag slowly, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Welcome, now lets get this done."

They spent the next hour doing the homework that had been set that day, along with a few extra assignments, at Hermione's insistence of course. It didn't take long for them to complete all the work; Hermione even made Draco his own Binder. His was in black leather with a silver trim and his name embossed on the front in glinting silver script; at his own insistence. She had taken a copy of his notes and filed them away, as well as giving him a copy of her own.

They spent the last hour before dinner making a list of the horcruxes, in Hermione's map book, and their locations. "You have a notes section in yours too, and it will replicate mine when I touch the symbol in the top corner." A quick tap on the rune in the corner of her page sent the notes to Draco's own book so he had a copy.

He was looking at her strangely, head tilting to the side. His hair had come out from behind his ears again and was flopping over his face. She raised her eyebrows at him in question and he shook himself slightly.

"Nothing, sorry." He said moving to pack away his belongings. He paused once he had packed away all his books and his new binder, turning back to her. "You are amazing… I always knew you were smart Granger, but this is something else." He seemed to deflate slightly, letting out a breath as he held eye contact. "If I'm stuck back in time, I am damn grateful it was with you."

"You're not to bad yourself Malfoy." She smirked back at him. It was nice, she reasoned, to be appreciated. "See you at Midnight?"

"See you at Midnight," He said softly smiling at her, "Keep an eye out for Filch though, he was pacing in front of my common room last night. I think Mrs Norris can see through the Disillusionment charm."

"Understood, I'll keep an eye out" she tapped her map book, winking at him.

He laughed delightedly, winking back before heading out of the library with her. They separated at the stairs, as she dashed up a short cut to the Gryffindor common room. Five minutes later, after dumping her bag on her bed, Hermione was walking down to dinner with the rest of Gryffindor. Her little map book suddenly weighed down her pocket as she walked, and she absently patted it fondly.

The Great Hall was filled with cacophony of sound, the Gryffindors adding to this mass of sound as they poured into the room. After a very noisy and filling dinner, Hermione headed back up to the tower to help Neville with his notes. It didn't take the rest of the first years long to cotton on to what they were doing, and Hermione ended up passing round her, and Draco's notes. She ended up outlining the lesson to them all, explaining certain bits to help the information stick.

"Hermione?" Came Harry's voice from behind her. "Why do you have extra notes on classes we didn't have?" He was looking at one of Draco's notes on his charms class.

"Oh! Those are Draco's notes! He made me a copy to add to my binder" Damn it, she should have realised that would look odd.

"Oh, okay… When did you do that?" He looked a bit confused; the boy obviously hadn't noticed that she didn't return to the Tower with them all. Honestly, he was about as observant as a doorknob.

"Well I went to find the Library after History of Magic, as I told Neville," she inclined her head in Neville's direction who nodded in confirmation. "And I bumped into Draco there. We swapped notes, I think it will be very beneficial to have extra you know? Just in case I miss something."

Harry nodded slowly, edging away from her slightly. His eyes had widened, and he was slowly placing the folder back onto the table she was sitting at. "Wow, that sounds… fun?"

She cocked her head to the side eyeing him carefully, what on earth had gotten into the boy?

"Don't worry Harry! She won't make you do it too!" Neville laughed from across her table, drawing a chuckle from Hermione herself.

"Oh my God, Harry No! I wouldn't make you do that!" So that was it!

Harry relaxed and smiled at her timidly, "Sorry Hermione, I just don't think I'm up for that."

After reassuring him that she wouldn't force him into copying extra notes for her and studying during breaks, he went to sit back down next to Ron taking her folder with him. Ron nodded to her and mouthed thank you, to which she responded by blowing him a kiss and sending a wink. He frowned back at her and poked his tongue out. She laughed heartily and settled down in her chair to enjoy her evening.

A few hours later and Hermione was once again tucked up in bed, setting her eleven thirty alarm. This time she fell asleep straight away, sleeping straight through until her alarm chimed her awake.

Rolling out of bed, she pulled on her dressing gown and slippers then headed silently out of her dorm room. She slid, silent and invisible out of the common room and headed down the corridor, map book in hand. She stepped quickly through her secret passage and entered the seventh floor corridor just as a door appeared in the wall.

The shimmer that was Draco entered the room of requirement, and she followed in behind him.

"Evening Draco"

"Hey Hermione, any trouble?" He asked appearing in front of her.

"Nope, all clear" she waved her book at him, and he copied her smiling happily.

"Me too" He then plopped down into a large squashy sofa that was by a fireplace. A large red squashy sofa, in fact, the whole room looked remarkably like the Gryffindor common room.

"Nice choice in decoration, bit cosy for you isn't it? Don't Slytherins usually sit on the bones of their enemies or something?" She sunk down into the sofa next to him sighing.

"Oh sure, usually" he sent her a smirk. "But didn't think you'd appreciate it." He leaned into her on the sofa, dropping his head onto her shoulder.

"Thanks for thinking of me. You tired?" She carefully pulled her hair out the way so he didn't breathe it in.

"Yeah" he said through a yawn, eyes watering. "Once Blaise and Theo spotted my new class work organiser, they insisted they had their own. So they made me sit up with them copying out my notes, and yours. If you don't mind making them a pair of folders I'd appreciate it. Said I knew a witch that could hook me up." He jostled her should at those last words and she laughed.

"Sure, I'll make some for you, any colour preference? Or should I assume all Slytherins want them as black as their souls?"

"Ha," yawn "Ha. You're jealous cause I've got taste. Matching would be good, just so it'd be easy to see they came from the same place."

"Okay Draco."

They sat there in comfortable silence as the minutes counted down. As Midnight hit, they linked their arms together as the sparks travelled across their bodies. One tingly minute later, and they were both ready to head back to their respective dorms.

"I've noticed an issue for tomorrow night." Draco stated as they approached the door.

"Astronomy?"

"Astronomy."

"I say we head to class as usual, there is a small alcove behind a tapestry of a unicorn on the staircase of the tower. We simply fall behind everyone else, slip into the alcove for a minute, then head on to class as if nothing happened." She nodded confidently at him, and he looked at her sceptically.

"If we do that every Wednesday, someone will notice. Plus we are going to be consistently late for a class."

"Think of it as a temporary measure, we can work on an illusion or something so that we can be in other peoples company at Midnight. For now though it's the best idea I have."

"Alright Hermione, I'll look into it. I'm sure there will be something in my family library if we haven't sorted it by Christmas."

Shooting him a smile, Hermione Disillusioned herself. Ruffling his hair, she placed an invisible kiss on his cheek. Checking her book, she opened the door and began her walk back to Gryffindor common room.

Her handy map showed Mrs Norris slinking about in her secret shortcut, so Hermione took the long route back to the Fat Lady.

Ten minutes later and she was back in bed, resetting her morning alarm. The future of the wizarding world was on their shoulders, but Hermione had never felt as unrestricted in years. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face and lightness in her heart.


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay so I've been loving your feedback and it inspired me to churn out another chapter!**

 **Draco's point of view, because its fun!**

 **enjoy! As always comments are welcome and I love to hear your ideas!**

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Getting to the Great Hall for breakfast was beginning to become a bit of an ordeal for Draco. Once again he had forgotten to set his alarm and had been woken up by Blaise. This time however, the boy in question simply opened the drapes around his bed, and threw a book at him from a safe distance.

A History of Magic was not his favourite book by far, but after being smacked in the stomach by it at seven in the morning, Draco could honestly say that it had dropped down the rungs of books he'd save in a fire.

To say his emergence from bed was coordinated and graceful would be a lie. He had ended up sprawled on the floor, tangled in his duvet and spewing profanities. Blaise looked impressed at some of the words he'd used, even saying that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.

Theo, who had been sitting on his bed at the time, started talking about Draco as though he was on some sort of zoo tour, his voice dry and sarcastic. "And here we see the regal Malfoy, in a rare state of dishevelment."

"Very funny Theo… shut up." He grumbled from the floor, kicking his legs out in an attempt to free himself from the blanket. His face was burning and he could feel the bruise starting to form on his butt.

"Startled from its slumber by the attack of its natural enemy… The dreaded book." Theo was speaking in hushed whispers, sharing conspiring looks with Blaise, who was now laughing his arse off.

"OH SOD OFF, the pair of you!" Draco yelled, throwing his pillows at them, after finally freeing his legs. "Keep it up, go on! See if I get you that folder." He stuck his nose in the air haughtily, folding his arms and pouting.

This only caused the two other boys to laugh harder, with Blaise sliding to the floor behind his bed. "Oh. My. God. Draco. Your face mate!" Blaise wheezed between guffaws.

Draco couldn't help it; their laughter was infectious. A very confused Crabbe and Goyle found them five minutes later still giggling, whilst trying to pull on their uniforms. Blaise had started hopping about whilst trying to pull on a sock and Draco had taken the opportunity to shove him over.

They barrelled out of the dorm room, elbowing each other, and ran full pelt to the Great Hall, only slowing down once they reached the main doors. The Slytherin girls all shot them disdainful stares as they entered the hall laughing and shouting like a bunch of rowdy Gryffindors.

"Good morning ladies, ready for an exciting day of learning and bettering ourselves?" He said jauntily, sitting next to Daphne and shooting Pansy a cheeky smile.

"Stop being such a weirdo!" Pansy hissed at him, eyes darting around the table. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Living my best life Pansy." Winking at her he grabbed a slice of toast, and shoved it into his mouth chewing like a washing machine.

Pansy recoiled from where she had leaned over Daphne to talk to him. "Ugh Draco, stop that! It's gross!"

"Wha' Tha' Anshee?" He said through a mouth of food, wiggling his eyebrows at the guys sitting round him. They all started on their own breakfasts with equal gusto, taking great pleasure, it seemed, in outdoing each other on how disgusting they could chew. Draco was having trouble not choking on his food and was snorting crumbs out his nose. God these kids were funny.

Pansy had scrunched up her nose and was leaning as far back from the table as she could. With a disgusted grunt she pushed her breakfast away from her, "I hope you're all happy…" She went to stand but Daphne had grabbed a glass of orange juice, and stood dramatically.

"You think you got skills?" She said ominously "Watch this!" She brought the glass to her lips took a deep sip. Then snorted the juice back into the glass, through her nostril as she held the other one closed.

Silence fell on the Slytherin table as they all stared in shock. Daphne had a huge grin on her face and was smirking triumphantly. She delicately picked up a napkin and blotted her nose, before sitting back down on the bench.

"Holy shit that was awesome!" Came a shout from across the great hall. This set off a chain reaction as people clapped and cheered for Daphne's trick.

"Nice one Greengrass!" "You've got some skills there" "Do you think you can teach me Daphne?"

Draco had slid from the bench and was crying with laughter on the floor. His arms flopping as he lay there, gasping for breath. Pansy's face, oh Merlin he couldn't breathe. She was super pale and looked like she was going into shock. Daphne was taking it all in stride, grinning from ear to ear.

And to think, he'd never had known that his future sister in law could do something like that. He could see it now, Lord and Lady Greengrass sitting at the dinner table when BAM, Daphne pulls out her new trick. Lady Greengrass would have had a fit.

"Daphne," he wheezed, "you are a gift."

After all that excitement at breakfast, Draco could hardly concentrate in his first class, so eager he was to see Hermione and relate his adventures. He practically sprinted down to the greenhouses after the bell and bounced on his feet waiting for her to arrive.

Blaise and the rest of the first year Slytherins arrived at a more leisurely pace. Daphne walked with Pansy, who was watching her friend cautiously, like she was going to pull out another gross or weird talent at the drop of a kneazle.

Blaise and Theo came to stand next to him as he continued to bounce on his feet. They were eyeing him knowingly, but didn't comment on it, much to his relief. The next class bell was about to go and he could see Sprout pottering about through the glass. Where the hell was Granger? She was going to be late if she kept this up.

The doors slammed open suddenly and the Gryffindor first years came barrelling out of the castle, a mass of uncoordinated bodies. He spotted his favourite one immediately and began waving at her, "Oi, Granger! Hurry up or you'll be late!" He shouted across the lawn.

The bell went off and the Gryffindors suddenly began racing across the grass, coming to a skidding stop just as Sprout opened the door. He didn't get a chance to speak to Hermione until they had been set their task and he had dragged her to a table with him. Neville and Blaise shrugged at each other before joining them again. He noticed out of the corner of his eye, that Theo had joined Potter's table and was obviously regaling them with this mornings antics.

"You seemed to be having a lot of fun at breakfast." Hermione said, glancing over to Potter's table before meeting his eye.

Blaise grinned at Hermione, nodding "It was so beautiful." He said, wiping a fake tear from his eye as Neville laughed quietly next to him.

"Saw that did you? It was hilarious! Who knew Daphne had such a hidden talent. Made my day! That and seeing you of course" He bumped into her genially with his shoulder.

She rolled her eyes at him and snorted a laugh. "Yes we saw that, the Weasley twins looked especially impressed, pretty sure she has a fan club now."

"Do they need badges?" He asked cheekily, "I'm quite good at badges you know…"

She didn't immediately respond instead choosing to ignore the comment, so Draco turned back to his task. He was trimming this small plant, which was made rather tricky by the fact that it tried to wiggle away from his shears every time he brought them close. Neville seemed to be having more luck with his little tree thing, so Draco decided to ask him for assistance.

"Hey Neville, what are you ACK…." Draco gave out a strangled yelp as something cold and squishy splatted against the back of his neck. His whole body seized up as he felt the slimy cold substance slip down his collar in squelchy chunks. He let out a high-pitched whine, as he arched his back to try and get away from it.

Instead of try to help him the rest of his table started cracking up, loud guffaws and snorts came from the two boys opposite him as he wiggled uncomfortably. Hermione was leaning heavily on the table, gasping for breath. Her left glove was filthy and covered with slimy mud, probably the same mud that she had slapped onto his neck.

"GRANGER!" He squealed, reaching back and grabbing the mud before smacking it on Hermione's cheek. She didn't even seem bothered by that, and just kept laughing tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.

All this commotion had drawn the attention of Sprout, who deducted two points from each of them for 'ignoring the plants'. They were told to go wash up at the old porcelain sink in the corner of the Greenhouse. Draco made his way over to the great big tub like sink, keeping his back away from Hermione at all times. She was happily trotting after him, skipping over broken paving stones and dodging dangling vines that tried to grab her hair.

"I'm going to have dirt in my uniform all day, thanks for that Granger." He had thrown his gloves onto the table next to the sink, and was frowning at her. Her whole body was still shaking with repressed laughter, as she stood there watching him. "Laugh it up Granger…"

"Oh come on Draco, you know you deserved it! Plus, what's the point of being kids again if we can't do childish things?"

"There's childish things Hermione and then there is this filth." He said pointing seriously at his neck. "Now," He said looking over her shoulder to check the class, "whip your wand out and sort out this mess."

"Okay, okay!" She laughed, twisting her arm, wand shooting into her palm quickly. "Suppose it's only right I clean up after myself."

"Thank you ahh…" Hermione had grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him awkwardly backwards so she could get a better look. "All that wriggling you did earlier has gotten it all down your back." She unceremoniously stuck her wand into the back of his shirt, hitting him with an exceptionally ticklish scourgify charm.

"Un hand me Minister!" He hissed wiggling against her surprisingly strong hold. What a time to be stuck as an eleven year old.

"Nearly done, no need to be a Flobberworm about It." he couldn't help the squirming; her spell was really ticklish. "There, all done." She released the back of his shirt, turning her wand onto her own face and cleaning the grime off. She was watching him with an amused expression as he straightened his shirt back out, his face burning.

"Who knew you were such a germophobe?" She smirked at him smugly, if he knew what a germophobe was he would probably send back a scathing retort. Instead he opted for a more civil approach.

"Har har." He snorted through his nose at her. "Shall we go back to class Minister? Or is this some scheme of yours to get me on my own?" He paused at her suddenly sheepish grin, his face dropping into a deadpan stare. "You're kidding? You did that on purpose? How did you know Sprout would? You know what I'm not even surprised. What is it?"

"Well as I'm sure you're aware, flying lessons start next week."  
Draco had, in fact, forgotten this. "Yes of course." He nodded firmly.

"Right, so in that class you take Neville's rememberall and throw it at the castle…"

"And Harry the great, catches it and becomes the new seeker for Gryffindor, your point being?"

She just continued to stare at him, her face bright and hopeful.

"No, absolutely not." Draco marched straight passed her, back to the class table.

Unfortunately Hermione was not one to be deterred, so for the rest of the day she would pop up with her stupid little pouty face all hopeful and bright looking.

"No." "No way in Hell Granger." "Bugger off Minister!" "I won't do it, you can't make me!"

He thought he had lost her once he was in History of Magic, he had sat down next to Blaise and unloaded his book to have a nap on it. Blaise then turned to him, "Draco, I've got a message for you."

Draco raised his head from the book and looked at Blaise curiously, "what?" he said carefully squinting at the boy.

Blaise clasped his hands together as though praying, stuck his lip out in a pout and started blinking at Draco with a dramatic pleading face.

"Urgh! Tell Granger 'no' when you see her next." He slumped back onto the desk, Blaise chuckling at him.

By the time Astronomy came around, Draco was contemplating just not going and repeating the day. But the thought of what Granger would say made him think that it'd just be safer to go to Astronomy and put up with her pestering.

He and the rest of his class started heading to the astronomy tower at half past eleven, giving him plenty of time to send a quick message to Hermione. He told her he would meet her in the hidden alcove just before class. He also wrote 'NO' in big letters under his note.

It was remarkably easy to fall behind his classmates, not one of them noticed as he slid behind the unicorn tapestry. Turns out, Hermione was right. Leaning against the wall Draco's eyes slid closed and he listened to the footsteps of his classmates as they trekked up the stairs.

It wasn't long before he heard the loud voices of the Gryffindor boys as they passed his hiding spot. He barely even reacted when he heard Hermione's voice say that she just had to grab something quick. Opening one eye he checked his timepiece, quarter to twelve. Theoretically enough time for her to return to Gryffindor tower and be back to class in time.

A few seconds later however, she was standing in front of him smiling happily. "Evening Draco, I take it you got my message?"

He hummed non-committally "I take it you received my answer? Repeatedly."

"I'll owe you a favour, come on…" She was gently shoving him into the wall, he let his body go floppy and he eyed her with exasperation as she shook him.

"Will you shut up if I do it?"

"YES! Oh Draco than…" she began bouncing around in excitement.  
"Ah" he interrupted her, "I get to do it my way. Loathe though I am to admit it, Neville is growing on me and I don't want to bully a child."

Hermione's face scrunched up weirdly, before she suddenly pulled him into a violent hug. "Merlin! Granger." He started pulling her off him, "Alright, lets not get carried away, I only said I'd help get Potter onto the Quidditch team. I haven't done it yet… Although," he gave her a contemplative look "I wouldn't be adverse to a reward if I succeed." He smirked at her wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"How about," she said coyly, leaning forward, "I don't turn you into a ferret in front of the whole class?"

"Suits me, yep that sounds good." She was leering at him now, an almost feral grin on her face. Merlin, this witch was a little bit scary. "I agreed to help you Minister, no need to threaten." He quickly checked his timepiece again, holding it in front of her face to distract her.

"We can always discuss the details tomorrow. We have a free period tomorrow morning, I can meet you in the library."

Draco nodded and held out his hand, which she quickly grasped. The clock tower began to chime at midnight, and after a terse few second of waiting the sparks once again danced across their bodies. The second the sparks once again vanished under their skin, Draco and Hermione were pelting it up the remaining stairs towards the top of the Astronomy tower.

They Made it just as the last of the students were exiting the staircase that led to the top of the tower. They slipped in behind them and wandered in as though they had been there the whole time.

After a super fun hour of freezing his arse off and staring at constellations that he already knew by heart, Draco was ready for bed. This whole lack of freedom to do what he wanted thing, was getting old fast. Although he did have to admit, there was a certain draw to not have to worry about everyday living. No one looking at him in fear and revulsion was also pretty nice.

He had developed a habit of not looking at the horrible scar on his arm, but he had caught sight of it a few times since time jumping and it still surprised him that it was clear.

There was no doubt in his mind now; they would not be following the same path as before. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

The first years all trudged sluggishly down the spiral staircase after being dismissed. The Gryffindors has it easy, they didn't have to climb down trillions of stairs to the very bottom of the damn castle. Draco waved half-heartedly in Hermione's direction before beginning his trek to his bed.

Morning came around far quicker then Draco would have liked and, as the rest of his dorm mates had a lay in, he got up and headed to the library. He had decided, that the best way to get Potter on the Quidditch team was to chuck stuff at him, preferably in the view of McGonagall or Oliver Wood. Hermione was a little sceptical about this plan of his but she was happy to let him continue with it, as long as he chucked something at Harry during the first flying lesson.

Draco transfigured some rocks into small glass balls, and proceeded to carry them around with him. His first opportunity came at lunch, as Potter came in a bit later than usual, and most of Gryffindor was already seated including Wood.

A quick glance confirmed that McGonagall was already at the teacher's table. Before Harry could get a chance to sit down, Draco stood up and yelled to him.

"Oi! Potter," Harry turned quickly in his direction, and he had garnered the attention of Wood as a plus, "Think fast!" He lobbed the small glass orb just to the right of where Harry was standing. The boy reacted faster the Draco thought possible, spinning in place to pluck the tiny glass object from the air.

"Nice catch Harry!" He yelled saluting the boy, before sitting back down. Hermione was watching the teacher's table to see if McGonagall had been observing. She nodded in confirmation to him, and he felt quite pleased with himself, even if it meant helping the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"What was that about?" Pansy said from opposite him. She was watching Harry as he sat at his own table; he kept playing with the small glass object.

"Chucked something at Potter during Herbology, those bulb things, anyway he caught it super fast. So I've decided to see how good he is at catching."

"What is the point in that?" She asked, nose wrinkling in confusion.

"Yeah, I don't get it mate…" Blaise said from beside him. Theo nodded in agreement.

"Bit of fun really." He drew one of the glass balls from his pocket and showed it to them. It was slightly golden, but see-through. A twisting green powder floated within the sphere, "see this? Well, If Potter fails to catch it and it shatters… Boom!" He said calmly, splaying his hands dramatically. "Compressed paint bomb" He said with a wink.

"So its like a challenge?" Pansy said slowly, "does Potter know they explode?" She asked narrowing her eyes at Draco's innocent face.

"Haven't got around to telling him yet" he said with a grin, causing laughter from those surrounding him.

Draco managed to catch Potter a few more times that day, usually in the corridors and once at dinner. Harry had started throwing them back whenever he saw Draco, and to be honest he was starting to enjoy the challenge.

Hermione looked remarkably pleased about the whole situation and would laugh happily whenever they met in the corridors for their 'chucking challenge', as he had been referring to it in his head. Other students had begun to notice, and he had overheard them saying that they thought the two first years from opposing houses were kind of adorable.

One more midnight meet-up with Granger and they were moving on to their first lesson with Severus. They had debated on the best way to move forward regarding Snape, and had come to the conclusion that it was imperative the man be barred from their minds. Draco himself was a very powerful occulemens and, as it turned out, Hermione had taken it upon herself to become proficient in this branch of magic too.

He was going to sit with Granger in the class, mainly so that they didn't get frustrated with sub par partners. It would mean that any projects would be done together which would make their lives so much easier. Draco was exceptionally good at Potions and Hermione was also a skilled practitioner, it just made sense to work together. Draco didn't really want to share her either; they only had a few classes together at the moment so it was only fair.

The Great Hall was packed for breakfast and was extremely noisy. He sat on the end of the table with Crabbe, Goyle and Theo as they all quickly shovelled food in their faces. Blaise Had already finished breakfast and was heading back to the common room with the girls. Impatient to be gone, Draco grabbed an extra few slices of toast and made his way out of the hall.

He spotted Granger following behind Potter and Weasley, the latter who looked extremely annoyed. Frowning at that, he continued walking behind them and almost choked on his toast when he overheard Hermione.

"Did you know that you could make a draught of living death? You have to add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood, it sound simply fascinating!"

Weasley let out an extreme groan of annoyance; apparently Hermione had been doing this for a while.

"And there is this fascinating thing called a bezoar, it's an antidote to most poisons but you find it in the stomach of a goat, which sounds disgusting!"

Another groan from Weasley, along with a long-suffering sigh from Potter, Draco couldn't help but chuckle. The boys didn't notice him laughing, but Hermione sure did. She caught his eye then gazed at the ceiling and shook her hands in a clear 'Merlin give me strength' plea.

He dashed off quickly to his common room, before he burst into laughter then and there. She was trying to help Harry, in her own misguided way. Potter was really lucky to have someone like Hermione as a friend, even if he only thought of her as a nuisance. That'll soon change when exam season comes round, he thought as he got his bag ready.

Blaise came to grab him from their dorm, as everyone was ready to go. He was quite looking forward to working with Snape; he had actually missed his godfather. Despite him being a grumpy old sod…

Wait…

Draco himself was forty… at least in mind…

Snape died at thirty-eight… Which meant he was currently… 31.

Holy shit, he was older than Snape!


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the wait everyone!**

 **I have not given up! I am just a bit sporadic with my writing and posting, apologies for that.**

 **I have a long ol' chapter for you to make up for it! With a little twin bonus at the end :D**

 **Thank you for all the comments and follows they have encouraged me to finish this chapter and get it too you! Once again I do love suggestions on what you would like to see!**

 **My beta is going through all my chapters for me, but alas I am impatient and will post this early XD**  
 **Sorry for any mistakes!**

 **Have fun in potions.**

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"Hermione please stop!" Ron groaned, "Nobody cares about some monk-wolf plant! Give it a rest!"

Hermione snorted sharply through her nose. Rearing back and staring at Ronald wide eyed, nostrils flaring. "It's monkshood and wolfsbane, and its the same plant. And plenty of people care, I think our Potions teach would argue with you on that!" She said the first part loudly, eyeing Harry to make sure he was paying attention. He watched her warily -like she was a bit mad- but it seemed as if he had been listening.

Honestly, trying to help the boy was a thankless job. Granted she knew she could be a bit pushy, but it was for the best. She would just have to be patient with them; they were only children after all…

"No duh! Teachers have to say that, it's their job." Ron scoffed at her, folding his arms and smirking as though he had won.

Well there goes the patience she had. What a little snot.

Choosing not to respond –lest she say something she'd regret- she glared haughtily at him.

Ron's smirk dropped at her continued silence, and he sent a questioning glance to Harry, who shrugged. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, the tips of his ears tingeing pink.

"Um…I think it's very interesting Hermione," Neville spoke quietly from behind Ron, "It's probably best to be prepared and stuff…" He shot her a small smile, which she returned with one of her own.

Harry mumbled something noncommittally, and moved his head in a weird little motion that could be taken as a nod of agreement. She narrowed her eyes and watched him from her peripheral. He seemed to be quite uncomfortable, eyes darting, body tensing.

Hermione realised that it was probably something to do with his upbringing. From what he had told her, if there were any sort of discord he would usually be blamed for it. He once even joked that he had his aunt's frying pan to thank for his quick seeker skills.

"Why thank you boys." She spoke directly to Harry and Neville, trying to put them –mainly Harry- at ease. "It's good to see others value their education." She hummed happily to herself, spinning on the spot and entering the potions classroom.

The door had opened -by itself- whilst she was talking. Taking it as a cue to enter, the rest of the students trailed in wearily after her. Heading towards the front of the class, Hermione was jolted unexpectedly as someone barrelled into her.

"Bagsy Granger!" Draco shouted loudly, pulling her with him to a table against the wall. He pushed her onto a stool, before perching on his own. He was looking about quite smugly, obviously pleased with himself.  
Hermione let out a sigh, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Draco. Honestly, she had already agreed to be his partner. What a child.

Neville looked a bit lost, as he had been following behind her. Blaise went over to him and steered him towards the table just behind her own, where they both began unloading their equipment.

"It's alright Neville," Blaise said, shooting her and Draco a sly look. "We don't need either of them. You can be my potions partner." He said proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'm rather good at potions, Mother taught me some things."

I'll bet she did. Blaise's mother wasn't known as the black widow for nothing. The witch certainly had some skill in undetectable poisons, if rumours were to be believed.

"Thanks Blaise, yeah that'd be cool. I'm probably no good at any of this, I'm a bit lost already and it's only the first week!" Neville was nodding his head and smiling brightly as he spoke, clearly happy to have a comrade.

Leaving them to it, Hermione turned her face back to the front of the class, hair bouncing at the movement. Placing her cauldron and first year potions set onto the desk, she organised her workspace meticulously. After a few moments she became aware of Draco watching her intently.

"Good morning Draco, how are you today?" She spoke quietly. Her eyes flicked over the room rapidly, checking for Snape and eavesdroppers.

"Yeah, I'm great…listen." He paused, glanced around shiftily before leaning towards her, "I just realised something and it's a little unnerving."

"What?" Hermione could feel the anxiety building. Was there something wrong? Had they done something irreversible? "What is it?"

"I'm- we're older than Snape!" his voice was hushed but his arms were jerking agitatedly.

Hermione felt a rush of irritation; he had her worried for a second. There was her thinking it was something serious. "Yes…" She said slowly, "and?"

"And?" He paused in his flailing, "You knew? WHY!" He stopped suddenly, checking round and leaning in further to whisper. "Why didn't you mention this to me?"

"It's not that important!" She hissed back. "Plus I thought you already knew!"

"Not that important?" He looked flabbergasted. "Don't you get it Hermione?" He was watching her imploringly. "I can tell him to 'listen to his elder' or 'now look here young man' or 'when I was your age' and he can't say anything!"

Draco looked as though his birthday and Christmas had all come at once. She didn't see the big deal; it wasn't like Professor Snape knew about them, yet.

"You're an idiot." She deadpanned, rolling her eyes at his giddiness. Honestly what a thing to be happy about.

She resisted the temptation to smack him, as he sat next to her, whispering things like 'whippersnapper' and 'young rapscallion'.

He stopped talking entirely however, when Professor Snape entered the classroom. Sweeping across the stone floor, robes billowing behind him, Snape glowered at them all as he went to his desk.

His eyes swept over the room calculatingly and Hermione saw the exact moment he did a double take. Not to look at Harry, no, to look at the pair of students sitting happily next to each other in the front row. One in a Gryffindor tie, the other a Slytherin. His gazed then shifted behind them, to where Neville and Blaise were amicably setting up their table.

It was hard to keep her face straight and innocent, as she could see Draco grinning next to her. It was only when Draco shot a wink at Professor Snape, that the man continued his appraisal of the class.

He called out the register pausing at her name, obviously a muggle one, and giving her a strange look. He did follow history by pausing at Harry's name, proceeding to mock the poor boy. This time however, no Slytherins laughed.

This only seemed to irritate the potions master. He finished off the register, his dark eyes coldly passing over them all.  
His voice was barely above a whisper when he began his speech- 'the subtle science and exact art of potion making'- the complete silence of the students made it easy to hear.

It'd been such a long time since seeing the man; Hermione had forgotten how intense he was about brewing. Leaning forward on the table she hung on his every word. He loomed in front of them impressively, hands twisting as though he was creating magic in the very air. She sighed softly. If only he wasn't such an arsehole.

As Snape finished talking, the class held their breath, each afraid of drawing the potion masters attention.

Hermione caught Draco watching her, face scrunched up and eyebrows furrowed. She raised an eyebrow at him, tilting her chin up defensively. He responded by raising both his eyebrows and giving her a wide-eyed look of disbelief.

"Potter," said Snape suddenly. Jolting them both from their silent conversation.

"What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's arm twitched, she held it down with force. Draco caught the movement and gave her an encouraging nod. She waited on tender hooks as Harry stammered slightly, his face scrunched in confusion. Suddenly, his eyes flicked to her before lighting up.

"Um…Draught of the Living Death?" Harry's voice rose uncertainly, "Sir." He quickly tacked on as Professor Snape's eyebrows rose slightly.

You could have heard a pin drop, the room was so silent. Ron had edged away from Harry slightly, as the Professor continued to stare at him.

"Correct." Came the harsh reply. "And where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Confident that Harry couldn't get this one right, Snape was smirking down at him.

Once again Harry's eyes darted towards Hermione, this time filled with shock. "The stomach of a goat, Sir." He said tentatively - holding himself very still - as he sat there under verbal assault.

A murmur passed across the class, students twisting in their chairs excitedly. Snape silenced them immediately with a vicious glare, his lip curling disdainfully.

"Very good, Potter." It looked as though that admission was painful for the Professor, his face pinched and tight as he spoke. Judging by the way Draco had pursed his lips together; he had also noticed the expression on Snape's face and was trying not to laugh.

"Let's see if you get this one. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape was now fully looming in front of Harry, arms folded as he sneered down at the small first year. It was starting to piss Hermione off.

Harry however seemed perfectly all right, his bright eyes focused on Snape's, refusing to lean back or be intimidated. "Only the name. It's the same plant, sir." He said steadily.

Snape was seething. Breathing deeply through his nose and clenching his jaw, as though he was chewing on words not polite enough for his first year company, he turned to the rest of the class.

"Well?" He snapped viciously, "Why are you not copying that down."

There was a flurry of movement as each student scrambled for their quills and parchment, each one surreptitiously avoiding Snape's gaze as he prowled to the front of the class. His face was pinched and he looked ready to murder someone.

"Blimey" Whispered Draco, "I remember it taking Potter a lot longer to get him this angry the first time."

"Well, he did have help." She shot him a smug smirk. Listening to Harry prove Professor Snape wrong, was just so satisfying. "Is it bad to say I took some vindictive pleasure from that?"  
Draco snorted in response and shook his head. "Possibly, but I knew you had a mean streak Minister, so it's not much of a surprise."

She could deny it -of course she could- would be a lie though. "Remind me to tell you about Rita Skeeta some time." She said with a flash of teeth.

Draco mock shuddered and held his palms up, "You know what Minister? I'm not sure I want to know." He lowered his hands and turned his focus to the front of the class, nudging her to do the same.

Professor Snape had put the instructions for the most basic of all boil cures on the black board and students had started to collect ingredients from the cupboards on the edges of the room.  
"Merlin," Draco hissed, as he elbowed his way through their classmates. "Going to be totally honest with you Granger, not sure I can do seven more years of this. Boil cure! Urgh!" He groaned with disgust. "My brain is going to rot."  
Rolling her eyes, Hermione gathered the slugs and nettles for the potion before gently kicking the backs of Draco's legs to get him moving. "Your brain is already rotten."

"Ah ha ha, so funny." He deadpanned at her, "I'm serious Granger, It's going to melt out my ears and then what good will I be?" He reached their workbench and dumped his half of the ingredients down.

"At least you'll look pretty." Perching daintily on her stool, Hermione quickly weighed out the ingredients and separated them into piles.

"True, I can be a trophy Husband." He laughed, setting up the cauldron with precise and practised movements.

"Be a dear and crush the snake fangs for me would you." Hermione asked as she added the nettles and prepared the horned slugs. She glanced at the black board, double-checking the method just in case. Of course she had already read it and committed it to memory. Even though she knew a more effective cure that had been created about five years ago, in her own timeline anyway.  
"Yes Minister" He drawled, sweeping the fangs into the mortar and starting to grind them. "Potter's been trying to catch you eye, by the way." He said side eyeing her.

Stilling her movements, she glanced around Draco and saw that Harry was indeed watching her. Upon catching her eye he gave her a thumbs up and a grin. She smiled at him excitedly and returned the gesture.  
She quickly stopped though, as Snape prowled across her view giving her a scathing look. Sighing she turned back, just in time to watch Malfoy add the powders snake fangs to their bubbling potion.  
"Did you finish my slugs?" She could see them stewing nicely and gave Draco an affectionate shove. "Aw, thanks Draco."

"Your welcome. Quills." He said holding out his palm, as he lowered the flame with the other.

She placed them into his hand, watching as he removed their pot from the flame and began adding the quills gradually. Confident in Draco's ability to handle the potion, she took the time to gaze about the class.

There were varied states of confusion. Harry and Ron seemed to be doing acceptably; they had begun stewing their slugs. Neville and Blaise were also doing well, which was rather surprising given Neville's history. Blaise was a rather good instructor, and was explaining every step carefully. He wasn't kidding that he had some knowledge, rather impressive for a first year.

Crabbe and Goyle looked lost. She could just see into their potion from here, and it was not looking pretty. Grimacing slightly, she resisted the urge to go help them; it'd look a bit weird.

"Miss Granger."

Snape's voice jolted her from her observations. He had been rather quiet this lesson, no scathing comments on the potion prep at all. She spun sharply in place to find him standing right in front of their desk. Malfoy was watching her with an amused expression on his face.

"Yes Professor?" Adorable first year smile in place, Hermione looked up at Snape as innocently as possible.

"Finished already are you? Although," he paused for dramatic effect, "it seems you have left Mr Malfoy here to do the work."

Nobody was talking now, the whole class was watching with morbid fascination as Snape spoke to her. Each one probably thankful it wasn't them.  
Hermione returned his cool gaze, with one of her own. She was Minister of Magic for Morgana's sake; he'd have to do a lot better if he was trying to intimidate her.

"I assure you Professor, I did my half of the brewing." She kept her voice level, maintaining eye contact. "Draco here," she patted Malfoy's arm gently, "Simply finished off the final step. Unless, you are implying that he is not capable of working with out supervision?" She quirked her head questioningly, eyes flicking to Draco, who was now looking at Snape with his own innocent first year face.

It looked like Snape was having a hard time deciding if she was being disrespectful or not. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. He obviously settled on not, as they received two points apiece for 'a perfect boil cure'.

Despite earning house points, Hermione was still irritated with Professor Snape. He forced three advanced questions on Harry, trying to make the poor boy look like a fool. Plus he didn't give Harry any house points for the correct answers. Forcing the frown from her face, Hermione thrust her hand into the air staring straight at Professor Snape's head.  
"Yes, Miss Granger?" He drawled, probably rolling his eyes internally.

"Sir I was wondering, seeing as you didn't give Harry any house points earlier, despite answering three questions correctly, if you had a different system of giving out points? For future reference."

In what looked to be a very painful few moments for professor Snape, if the grinding of his teeth - which could be heard across the classroom - were anything to go by.  
"How remiss of me," He hissed out lowly, nostrils flaring oh so dramatically. "Allow me to rectify that immediately." His gaze drifted slowly across to Harry, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Three points to Gryffindor, for your passable potions knowledge."

It sounded a little bit like an insult, but Harry didn't seem to mind. He was smiling happily up at Professor Snape, who was looking a little ill.

"Thanks Sir!"

The lesson passed by very quickly after that, and before she knew it they were all heading to lunch.

"You know," came a soft voice from amongst the crowd of potions students, "I thought Professor Snape was supposed to be real nasty. That wasn't too bad."

Hermione turned, in sync with Draco, to stare wide eyed at Neville Longbottom.

"He's a bit intense isn't he?" They both twisted round to see Ron looking thoughtful. "But he seems fair enough."

Draco let out a strange sort of squeaky noise, and she promptly stomped on his foot.

"I don't think he likes me very much," Harry sighed.

"Still got house points though, didn't ya mate?" Ron chuckled, "can't be all bad then can it?"

"Oh yeah!" Harry was grinning. "Thanks for that Hermione. It's almost like you knew what he was going to ask."

"Yeah" she laughed nervously, "Maybe he overheard us?"

"Yeah!" Ron exclaimed "that's gotta be it! Wow, Snape might actually be a softie on the inside."

Harry and Ron quickly made their goodbyes after that and headed out to Hagrid's hut for lunch. The rest of their class had proceeded into the great hall as Hermione and Draco waved the two boys off. As soon as they were out of sight Draco whirled on Hermione.

"My Gods, what have you done!" His face was part horrified and part joyous.

"Well that wasn't my intention, I just thought it was unfair of him to treat Harry so shamefully. I will not be putting up with it again."

"Snape's got a fan club!" Incredulous, Draco began walking to the great hall.

"He does not have a fan club, you're overreacting."

"He has a Gryffindor fan club." He whispered, eyes glassy and unseeing.

She let out an irritable sigh. "It's not a fan club, at most they think he has some human decency."

"The Snape club, club Snape, Snape's Lions, potion pioneers." He suddenly let out a gasp and clutched at her shoulder. He turned to her with a very serious expression on his face. "Hermione, you don't think… I mean do you think they'll."

It was a little unsettling; he was staring at her really intently. "What?" she whispered. The entrance hall was now completely empty but she glanced around quickly just in case. "They'll what?"

"Do you think," he took a steadying breath, "They'll need badges?"

Hermione received her first detention that night and lost the two house points gained from Professor Snape's class. Her voice was heard across the great hall as she screamed something beautifully obscene at Malfoy. Needless to say, Professor McGonagall was none too pleased with her.

She over heard George and Fred telling Harry and Ron later that evening, as she sat by the fireplace, that it was wonderful.

They were a bit put out that they'd missed it and complained to her that she should have waited for them to be there. She answered that with a sniff, a pout and stormed out of the tower to serve her detention.

She knew from experience that Minerva let you do homework in her detentions, so it wouldn't be too bad. At least she would have an excuse for wandering the corridors late at night for her midnight meet up with Malfoy, little git. Letting loose another long-suffering sigh, she headed down the stairs towards transfiguration. Honestly that man just got under her skin. Not even a week into the school year and he was already winding her up.

* * *

Without realising, Hermione was smiling fondly and humming as she walked down the corridor. A spring in her step, she passed a large ugly portrait of a goblin. The image was so ugly that it was difficult to focus on and so your eyes would just slide right passed it.

If you were able to focus however, you would notice that the eyes followed you as you passed by. Why is this unusual? Why, all the portraits move and watch you as you go! This is true, however have you ever seen a goblin with bright blue eyes, bright blue, human eyes?

"Bit cheery for detention, don't you think Fred?" Said the eyes, before disappearing into the darkness.

Another pair of identical blue eyes pressed themselves into the portrait. "I'd say so George."

"Think we should keep an eye on her?" George whispered, as he leant against the rough-hewn rock of their alcove. He was twirling a large folded piece of parchment in his hands.

Fred leaned away from the wooden back of the painting, carefully placing the eyes back on the goblin and shunting the wooden panel into place. He hummed thoughtfully before leaning against the other side of the alcove.

"Ickle Ronnikins told me something very interesting today." He looked at his brother and smirked. "It seems our Miss Granger coerced Snape into giving points to Gryffindor."

George flung himself against the wall clutching his heart, "what is this wizardry?" He gasped, "Maybe the world is coming to an end?"

"Quite." Fred whispered back solemnly. "I have noticed though," He tipped his head towards the parchment in George's hand, "She's never in our dorms at Midnight."

"You been spying on people Freddie?" Folded arms and a disapproving look from his twin, caused him to roll his eyes in response.

"Just keeping an eye out, I like to know where people are. For safety, of course."

"Course, noble of you." George grinned cheekily at him from the gloom.

"Think of the children and all that."

George chuckled lightly and crouched to the floor to lie out the parchment. "Breaking curfew, loosing points and a detention."

"All before the first week is up." Fred said shuffling down the wall to peer at the faded yellow paper.

They caught each other's eyes, "Sounds just like…"

"Someone we know…"

"Doesn't it?"

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Echoed through the small alcove, as two sets of identical bright blue eyes started following a tiny inked set of footprints, as they entered the Transfiguration classroom.

"Bertie bot Fred?"

"Don't mind if I do George."


	17. Chapter 17: Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley

**And another chapter! Thank you for your patience!**  
 **I really appreciate all the kind comments and kudos!**  
 **All mistakes are my own and as per, suggestions are more than welcome!**

* * *

"I can't feel my arse anymore." George groaned, shifting on the cold uneven stone. "This is the worst stake out ever."

"What I wouldn't do for a hot drink and a blanket right now, what time is it?" Fred pinched his legs trying to get the blood flowing. They had already eaten through their small supply of stake out snacks.

George flicked his wand, limbs moving jerkily. A ghostly clock hung in the air between them. "Would you look at that, it's five minutes later than the time I just told you, five minutes ago. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

Fred grumbled something under his breath, before shakily getting to his feet. "Alright, lets head back. She hasn't moved from McGonagall's for a few hours now, never known Minnie to give such a long detention for a first year before." He frowned at the back of the portrait, as though it was somehow the ugly goblins fault.

"Yeah, but she did say that that Malfoy kids was a 'scum sucking parasite that was born from…"

"WAIT" Fred yelled, suddenly dropping to the floor, arms spread wide. "She's moving." He whispered, eyes attached to the map beneath him.

Both red heads leaned close and watched with excitement as 'Hermione Granger' began rapidly ascending floors.

"Looks like she is in the spiral passageway that comes out near the sixth corridor."

"Georgie my boy, colour me impressed." Fred glanced up at his brother who was watching the little inked footprints intently.

George hummed back, his gazed focused. "She's going in the wrong direction for the tower, look."

Fred glanced down and, indeed, Granger was heading in the wrong direction. His eyes trailed across the parchment slowly; suddenly his eyes caught something on the seventh floor.

"George look! On the seventh floor, look it's…" The name had vanished. "It's gone."

"What's gone? A name? Not possible." George shook his head in disbelief.

"I swear to you on the wheezes, that I saw the name of that Malfoy kid. Right there." He jabbed his finger into the parchment.

"That's not possible, sorry Freddie I didn't see it. We've had a long night and…" George stopped speaking and they both watch in silent fascination, as the name 'Hermione Granger went barrelling down the seventh floor corridor, only to fade about halfway along.

It took roughly two second of stunned silence before both boys were sprinting from their hidden alcove. Skidding across the corridors they pelted it up to the seventh floor. Taking two steps at a time, up the sixth floor short cut, they reached the corridor in roughly three minutes.

Gasping for breath they peered carefully around the corner keeping one eye on the map in George's hand.

"Can," wheeze, "see?" George gasped.

Fred responded by shaking his head violently, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Bollocks, " George grabbed his twin's arm and they moved clumsily down the hallway, stopping about halfway. Scrutinising the map, George looked at his brother in disbelief.

The name had vanished.

The map had never been wrong before, never.

So either the map was wrong, or Miss Hermione Granger had found herself a secret unplottable room.

"Unplottable?" Fred whispered, eyes darting along the corridor.

"Read my mind…" George spun slowly in place, looking for anything that could be a clue. But the corridor looks just the same as any in Hogwarts with it's; torches, pillars, paintings, tapestries, even a couple of suits of armour.

Both lost in thought they didn't notice the small inky dot on the map moving steadily towards them, one paw print at a time.

George heard it first, the soft meow echoing behind them, as they both spun in terror to see Mrs Norris sitting at the end of the corridor. Her tail was flicking and she was making an odd chittering sound as her whiskers twitched rapidly.

"Shit" Fred cursed as they backed up.

 _We need to hide._

"Quick down the Gryffindor link" George hissed, shoving Fred towards a tapestry.

They both suddenly froze as a very distinct wheezing echoed from beyond the heavy fabric; Filch was coming through their escape route.

 _We need to hide._

They ran in a panic back towards the other end of the corridor, but were blocked by Mrs Norris who had moved closer.

"Was nice knowing you George," Fred stated as they backed away from the steadily approaching cat.

"You too Fred," George agreed.

"Maybe Mum will only half kill us?" Fred grinned hopefully at his brother.

"First week. New record for us ay?" George gripped the Marauders map tightly in his hand as they passed Barnaby the balmy again.

 _We need to hide._

A sudden creaking drew three pairs of eyes to the now twisting hanging fabric. Ripples travelled across its surface warping fabric to wood as a strong looking door appeared in place of the tapestry.

Without needing a cue, Fred dashed towards the door. Yanking it open and charging inside, he was closely followed by George, who had the good sense to send a confundus at Mrs Norris, before slamming the door shut.

They pressed their ears to the wood of the door and couldn't hear anything.

"You think he's gone?" George whispered, "Bet he's so angry! Oh I'd love to see his face!" He was chuckling to himself though, as Fred was facing away form him into the room they had jumped into.

"Oh shit." Came the unmistakable voice of a young girl.

"Well this is just perfect" Came the responding drawl of an equally young boy.

Turning slowly in place, George first spotted a tiny Slytherin boy with shockingly pale blond hair. The first name to disappear he guessed, Malfoy something. Standing rather close to him was the little first year girl they had been keeping an eye on, Hermione Granger.

Eyes wide and eyebrows raised George took in the secret room they were all standing in, "The hell kinda place…?"

Attack dummies, giant mirrors, large cushions and all manner of books and gadgets littered the space. His eyes were drawn back to the two small children standing in the centre of the old wooden floor.

"Starting training a little young aren't you?" Fred mused as he gazed about at all the defensive equipment.

"Well now what?" Malfoy said, ignoring the pair of them.

"Rude." George shook his head at his brother, "No manners kids these days."

"We haven't got time Draco, have to sort them out after" Hermione snapped, grasping the Malfoy kid's hand in hers.

"Sort them out after?"

"Sort them out after?"

The twins shared a puzzled glance at each other. A grating sound drew their attention however, to a large clock in the corner of the room. It began to chime.

"Midnight already? Time sure flies when you're having adventures, am I right George?" Fred laughed, edging towards the door. "Best be getting…" his words faltered, footsteps stilled and he gazed in shock.

Sparks had begun to erupt from Malfoy's skin dancing across his body in a sporadic manner; they twisted along his arms before meeting Granger's hands and stalling. Small sparks were spiralling across the young girls own body, but after a few moments they sank beneath the surface on both kids.

Before either of them could move, Malfoy whipped his wand out and they fell to the floor immobilised. Kid didn't even speak, wandless magic from an eleven year old. George was starting to feel very worried.

A ton of bushy hair came into his vision as Hermione leaned over him.

"You didn't have to body bind them Draco, we could have just talked to them. I'm sure you wouldn't have run away, would you boys?" She said grinning down at them, "Far too nosey."

Truth be told, George would probably take his chances with Filch right now. However, seeing as he couldn't move, might as well find out what's going on.

Hermione hummed down at him and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Could just obliviate them." Came a drawl from behind him, Malfoy must be checking on Fred.

"No." Hermione's response was surprisingly short and harsh. "Only when absolutely necessary, obliviating should be a last resort only."

"Yeah, okay. Sorry." Malfoy seemed a bit deflated. Good thing too, George didn't want anyone messing with his head. His dad was always going on about the damage an obliviate can do to a muggle. Merlin knows what it'd do to them.

"Now, what's say we let you up and have a nice chat about this, yes?"

If he could nod, he'd have been nodding vigorously. She was a little bit scary, even if she was only a firstie.

The bind lifted and George sagged into the floor with relief, "That hurt Malfoy." He got a responsive groan of agreement from Fred.

"Sorry." Came the monotone response from the pale little git, kid was smirking at him. Malfoy better be watching his pumpkin juice indefinitely.

Slowly George and Fred got to their feet, a bit bruised but otherwise fine.

In that time, Hermione had conjured two squashy armchairs and a love seat. Hermione and Malfoy sat in the chairs and she gestured for the twins to take the small sofa opposite them.

It felt like the time he and Fred had accidently set fire to the pigpen when they were seven. Mum had sat them down and giving them a stern talking too. Try as they might to explain how it was only somewhat their fault- Charlie had, in fact, given them the fire salamander to start with- she was having none of it.

"Draco and I were in a magical accident. And if at Midnight we aren't touching we have to re-do the day."

"I feel like that's the extremely short version…" Fred spoke slowly, arms crossed as he leaned back on the sofa.

"Yeah," George agreed, edging forward. "You just used advanced spells on us. We haven't even learnt about conjuring and here you go, first years, summoning up a whole living room!" he waived his arms agitatedly, gesturing to the chairs.

"And speaking of rooms! How the hell do you know about this one? You've been here a week! One bloody week! And you're using secret passageways, advanced magic and discovering secret rooms!" He had stood, during the rant, and hadn't noticed Malfoy's wand trained on him.

"Sit down, Weasley" The boy said with a sneer. "Before I make you."

Gritting his teeth, George plonked down next to Fred who was eyeing Malfoy critically.

"Draco, put your wand away, we have nothing to fear from George, or Fred for that matter."

She smacked Malfoy's arm when he didn't put it down immediately, huffing at him. Grumbling slightly, the blond kid shoved his wand up his sleeve and glared at them. "Fine."

"You're not eleven are you?" Fred said calmly.

The small children paused at this, exchanged a glance, before Hermione shook her head slowly. "No we aren't"

"How long have you been repeating days?"

Hermione snorted a laugh, "Not long actually. We did about three repeats of the first day before we got the hang of it."

George pulled a face at that, "At least it wasn't a school day." He murmured half-heartedly.

"Never thought I'd say this, but I would have given anything to have access to the library instead of having to sit on a train everyday." Malfoy sighed wearily, running his hand through his hair.

"If you only did three day of repeating, how come you're older?" Fred asked.

"Well done Freddie, good question." George nodded at Malfoy, "First years who have only been at school a week shouldn't be able to stun like that, or" he nodded to Hermione, "conjure anything, let alone a three piece suite."

"The accident happened to us after we left school." Hermione said.

"So you're like Bill's age-ish?" Fred said softly, mainly to himself.

"Bill's our older brother, works at Gringotts as a curse breaker." George added hastily, elbowing Fred.

"Yeah I know." Hermione said with a smile, "I'm actually close with your family."

Draco snorted a laugh, earning him a sharp jab to the ribs; he sank further into his chair.

"Riiiiight" George said uncertainly, "So what's the problem? Just go tell Dumbledore."

"Yeah! Dad says he's the greatest wizard alive. He'll sort it out no problem!" Fred chimed in nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Tried that already, practically useless."

"Draco!" Hermione snapped, "You should show a little respect, his assistance got us out of the loop and…"

"Yes, yes. That's why I said _practically_." He huffed, rolling his eyes.

"In. Any. Case," Hermione spoke loudly over Malfoy, "we're going to need you two to keep this to yourselves." She held up hand forestalling their responses. "I understand I haven't answered all the questions you may have, but that is all we can give you for now."

George opened his mouth to ask…

"And No! We cannot give you any information about the future." She sighed at their twin pouting faces. "It would be almost useless now anyway, we've changed things already. There is really no telling what will happen."

Her tone was firm and she nodded in the same way his mum always did to end a conversation. Best to leave it for the night, they could always find out more tomorrow or at some point.

Eyeing them carefully George sneakily checked over the map as Fred moved to stand in front of him. Filch was nowhere near the Gryffindor passageway, so if they were gonna head back now would be the time.

"Right" said Fred, "best hurry before Filch comes back this way yeah?" He started shoving George towards the door. "Come on Miss Granger, seeing as you're older…" he bowed and gestured with his arm towards the door.

Instead of going through though, Hermione sharply rapped her wand on Fred's head. He shivered violently and made a 'gak' sound of surprise.

She then spun on the spot and did the same to George. His whole body shivered as the feeling of cold gooeyness dripped down his head.

He let out a disgusted noise and backed away from her, only to bump into something.

"George? That you?" George blinked slowly; the only thing he could see though was a vague outline of his twin.

A huge grin pulled at his face, "Wicked."

"I've disillusioned you both, I shall undo it once we reach the common room. See you tomorrow Draco." She pulled a book from nowhere and, with a glance at it, marched from the room whilst tapping her own head and vanishing.

"What the hell…" Fred whispered, his blurry outline shifted slightly edging towards the door.

"Best hurry up lads, or she'll leave you behind." Came the sardonic voice of Malfoy from behind them. The boy sauntered past casually, before vanishing as he passed through the door.

Map in hand the twins quickly ran from the room, barely sparing a glance at the vanishing door behind them, before speeding into the Gryffindor passage. It did not take long for them to catch up with Hermione, and they followed her blurred outline back to the Gryffindor common room.

When they reached the Fat Lady's portrait Fred let out a sigh of swear words, she was gone. Hermione however didn't even pause; she leaned down at the frame and whispered something whilst tracing her hand under it. The door unlatched from the wall, and she slowly pulled it open enough to squeeze through.

Scrambling in after her, they were both sharply smacked on the head by Hermione's wand before they reached the end of the tunnel.

"Ah! Shit!" They hissed in unison, as the still disillusioned Hermione chuckled and headed across the common room.

"So violent," George whispered, shoving Fred ahead of him.

"Uh huh."

"Night night boys." Her disembodied voice floated down from the girl's staircase, before they heard the click of a door shutting.

They stood in silence for a moment, staring at each other, before nodding firmly and heading to bed.

"I'll be honest with you Georgie my boy, this is scaring the shit out of me a little bit." Fred whispered as they sat on their beds.

"Same." George whispered back. He felt as though his brain had been hit by a bludger them fed to a thing with many teeth. "Not sure if I can sleep, heads spinning a bit."

"Same."

They both lay there staring at the ceiling in silence.

George was following a dust mote as it spun lazily across the drapes, spinning and twirling. It was odd; it kind of looked like it was glowing now.

There was another one, spinning and twirling, also looked like it was glowing. His eyes blinked heavily. There were loads now, spinning and twirling in rhythmic unison. He opened his mouth to tell Fred, but all that came out was a yawn. Eyes watering with the effort to stay awake, George slowly sunk into a deep slumber.

He didn't notice the small figure at the door withdraw a wand. He didn't notice the soft footsteps as they walked across the room. Nor did he notice them pull the blankets over himself and his brother.

Hermione headed back across the common room, up the stairs and into her own dorm. She sighed as she climbed back into bed. This could be a big problem, or something useful, depending on how they handled the situation.

She rolled over in bed and pulled out her book, Draco had already written to her. She skimmed over the words lazily. Basically the same thing she was thinking, could be useful or could be catastrophic. She laughed softly at his suggestion that they unleash the twins on Quirrell and just wait for Ol'Mouldy to give up.

Grabbing her pen she circled that suggestion and put a smiley face next to it. Tucking the book under her pillow she curled up in the warm blankets. To sleepy to think about it now, she could deal with it in the morning.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello and welcome back! Thank you to everyone for the support! It means a lot to me!**

 **Sorry for the long wait between updates! I have been working on it, just very slowly and sporadically!**

 **A little bit of Draco this time!**

* * *

Saturday found Draco snoring well into late morning, after so many days of midnight meet ups, he was ready for a lay in. Rolling over in bed, he gazed around his room groggily. Blaise was lost under about five layers of blankets, at least he guessed that the misshapen pile was Blaise, the rest seemed to have gotten up and left already. Crabbe and Goyle were never ones for missing breakfast, even if it meant getting up early.

Being as dramatic as possible, he slid from under his covers head first to the floor and began crawling to his trunk. Gathering some sort of clothing for the day Draco dragged himself to the shower. Thirty minutes later found him sitting in the Kitchen, clutching his stolen muggle mug filled with hot chocolate and munching down on pancakes filled with chocolate and banana.  
The Hogwarts house elves were only too happy to serve him, he made sure to thank them and say please, which earned him another ten pancakes. Feeling a bit sick from all the sugar, Draco was wondering if he could get them to put it in a basket for him to take away.

This problem was solved however when twin one and twin two showed up, plonking down next to him on the bench.

It was at this point that he realised he had chocolate smeared across his face, and probably across his hands and maybe his hair too.

Bugger.

"Well good morning sunshine!" Fred said happily, accepting a plate from a nearby elf and loading it with some of Draco's pancakes. "Nice to see you having a spot of breakfast! George and I were worried about you, seeing as you didn't come to the Great Hall."

"That's very true, so worried!" George agreed, he declined the plate and simply grabbed a pancake from Draco's pile.

"Well Gentlemen, as you can see I am perfectly fine. Though I thank you for your concern." Draco made to get up and leave, but was shoved back into the seat by one of the boys. He glared at them grumpily.

"Not so fast Malfoy." Fred said patting his shoulder heavily.

Draco squirmed away from the touch. Fred's hands were now, also, covered in chocolate. He must have pulled a face, as the twins both laughed at him.

He could feel the childish indignation building within him and it took great effort to squash the desire to hurt them down. They were, after all, only children and they weren't laughing to be cruel. Breathing deeply Draco turned to the pair of them with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Well? I assume you found me for a reason? Besides sharing my breakfast." He rolled his eyes and quirked a smile at them.

"You'd be right about that, Draco my man! I can call you Draco can't I? Seeing as we're all friends now?" Fred said jovially.

Not certain about when they'd all suddenly become friends, Draco nodded in consent. What the hell, he was already best buds with the Gryffindors, what's another few Weasleys?

"Excellent! Well Draco, me and George were debating whether yesterday actually happened. Judging how unsurprised you are to see us, I'm guessing that we can't put it down to a really trippy shared dream?"

"No such luck. Hoped that myself a few times." He sighed. "Look I know the pair of you must have questions."

"Yeah."

"No shit."

"Right, but you know that I can't really give you any information about the future. It's like Hermione said, we've already changed things."

"Oh we're not worried about that!" George huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Nah! We wanna know the good stuff!"

"Good stuff?" Draco said nervously, eyeing them carefully. "Such as?"

"Magic!" George said eagerly.

"Spells" Fred yelled at the same time.

There was a very pregnant pause where Draco took the opportunity to stare at them blankly. "You realise," he spoke slowly, "that this is a school?"

Both boys flushed and began choking out half sentences. "Not…" "We didn't mean…" "That's just..."

Draco waited for them to calm down. They seemed to communicate by slapping each other rapidly and whispering hisses. "You done?"

"What we were trying to say-"  
"Was that we want to know any good-"  
"Advanced!"  
"Yes, advanced, magic that you might be able to share with us."  
"For personal research purposes."

Draco groaned, "This is for your joke shop isn't it?" This was -he realised- a mistake to utter those words, as both Weasleys immediately set upon him. They bombarded him with questions, getting louder and louder practically jumping in their seats.

This drew the attention of the house elves, who immediately ferried them out of the kitchen for being disruptive. The little hands shoved them all into the hall and the portrait slammed sharply behind them.

Letting out a sigh, Draco opted to give them general details about the WWW, as they escorted him back to his common room.

"Skiving snack box! That's brilliant!" Fred exclaimed, whilst Draco winced next to him.

"Why didn't we think of that ourselves? Oh wait!" George paused, looking to his brother.

"We did!" "We did!"

"In the bloody future!" Fred did a dramatic little stomp and flung his arms out.

"Right… Now gentlemen, let's not tell miss Granger about me giving you that little tit-bit yes?" He asked with a conspiratorial smirk. "Wouldn't want her stopping my sharing ways now would you?"

"What tit-bit was that then?"

"You've been sharing Draco? How good for you!"

"Perfect." Draco paused, eyeing the pair contemplatively. "There might be something that you lads can help me with, if you don't mind causing a little trouble? Discretion will be needed of course."

The matching feral grins on their faces, was almost enough to make Draco sorry for what he was about to do… almost.

Leaving the devious duo behind, Draco headed to his dorm room feeling smugly satisfied with himself, having successfully thrown the erumpent horn (an explosive creature part, known to make any situation MUCH worse).

He was humming happily to himself, grabbing a few things to go and find Granger, when he noticed Blaise watching him from under the pile of blankets.

"Morning Blaise, decided to grace us with your presence have you?" He chuckled, "You look like a Flobberworm under all that!"

Blaise started shaking slightly, pressing his lips together in an attempt to hold back laughter. "You know, Draco" He snorted, face crinkling with mirth, "That's pretty rich coming from the kid covered in chocolate."

Draco froze.

Hand slowly coming to his face, he pulled his fingers away to stare at the gooey mess that had coated them.

The laughter that burst from Blaise, at what must have been a very funny expression on Draco's face, echoed down the corridor and probably could have been heard from the common room.  
He chuckled himself before banishing the remaining chocolate with a wave of his hand. "Found my way into the kitchen, so many pancakes Blaise, so many!"

"Really? You're supposed to eat them, not wear them Malfoy!"

"I shall take that under advisement for next time." He said with a grin. "Listen I'm going to the library for a bit, catch you later?"

Blaise groaned, "Library on a Saturday? We haven't even been here a week! What is wrong with you?" The boy slid back under the covers firmly pulling them into a cocoon around him.  
"I take it you don't wish to come along then?" He chuckled.

A muffled grumbling came from the blanket fort, so with a laugh Draco grabbed the rest of his stuff and headed out.

Lost in thought as he headed up the stairs Draco didn't notice the two Gryffindors approaching him rapidly from the top. Within seconds he was wedged between Ron and Harry as they enthusiastically greeted him and began following him along the corridor to the library.

They were concerned that he wasn't at breakfast or lunch, but he explained that he had a lay in and just popped along to the kitchen and had pancakes. This started a whole explanation on how to get into the kitchen as well as explaining to Harry what a house elf was.

"So they are like servants? But for wizards?" Harry said looking confused.

"Exactly!" Ron exclaimed, "mum always wanted a house elf, but… well you know… only the oldest families have them and stuff." The boy had gone slightly red in the face and was scuffing his shoes slightly as he walked.

Draco sighed; Ron obviously didn't want to say that it was usually the wealthy families that had them, his own being very poor.

"They are actually more like magically bound slaves." Draco spoke calmly.

"Slaves?" Harry's face had gone pale and he looked a little distressed.

"Yes." Draco stopped and turned to look at both boys. "They are magically bound to a bloodline, and receive no payment for their service. Many house elves are abused and mistreated by their owners, as the creatures cannot defend themselves."

Harry looked horrified, Ron also looked a little green.

"That's terrible…" Harry whispered softly.

"Yes. However, the bond can also be extremely beneficial to both parties as long as there is respect. Many house elves, such as the Hogwarts elves, take extreme pride in their service. I believe that the elves can gain extra magic and longer life spans when linked to a family or building. But I'm no expert on that. You'd have to ask G…Um" he caught himself just in time. "erm… someone from the ministry or something."

"Wouldn't they rather be free?"

Draco turned to Harry and said seriously "Some would be better, yes. However most elves would find it extremely insulting to be asked if they wish to be free. You are implying that they are not good enough for their master. I have heard cases where some elves died after being free."

Ron and Harry looked at him like he had just killed their kneazle or something. With a sigh he took pity on them. "Look, the rights of magical creatures need to be improved, and they will be…"

He thought about Hermione's creature reform act, "We have good witches and wizards working on it, okay?"

He gently grabbed their arms and pulled them into the library with him.

"This is some heavy shit for a first week of school." Ron muttered, as they settled into a table by the window.

"Heavy shit." Harry agreed, nodding.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and they were nearly finished with their Transfiguration homework. Draco had been carefully helping them along whilst not trying to look as if he knew too much. Granted he couldn't remember everything from school exactly, but he had the general gist. It didn't hurt that he could turn the table into a rhinoceros and have it sing if he wanted.

"Can I borrow another bit of parchment Draco?" Harry said from next to him.

Both boys had had nothing on them, but he was happy to share his books and supplies. Reaching into his bag Draco withdrew his folder that Hermione had made him, pulling some neatly folded parchment from within he passed it across.

He caught Ron eyeing the folder with distaste.

"Alright there Ron?" he said with an eyebrow raised.

The red head seemed a little reluctant to say anything; he shuffled in his chair uncomfortably.

"It's just, we left the tower to get away from her. And then here we are doing what she told us too anyway!" He flung his arms up, before slouching back in his seat, ears red.

"I take it you are referring to Hermione?" Draco asked with amusement. "Been harassing you with homework planners already has she?"

"Yes!" Ron exclaimed! "Yes she has! I just don't get it. There are plenty of other people for her to boss around and she picks us!"

Draco tried to maintain a serious expression, but it was difficult. Typical Granger, she couldn't even last a week without trying to plan their lives.

"She had Neville making his own binder when we left." Harry chimed in. "Got him copying out notes and organising the whole thing by classes."

"On a Saturday!" Ron shuddered.

Draco couldn't help but laugh at their pained expressions.

"Oh my good men, you'll be grateful to have her on your side come exam time. Hermione Granger is an invaluable resource."

"Bossy" muttered Ron.

Harry smiled sheepishly, "I guess she's trying to help?"

Another dramatic moan came from Ronald.

"Well, I'm sorry I made you do work on a Saturday." Draco grinned at the sulking boy. "You didn't have to join in though."

"Well it's alright with you… you just, it 's different, less 'do it right now' and more chilled? You know?"

"She does come on a bit strong doesn't she? Part of her charm Weasley." At both boys' confused faces he sighed, "Don't worry, you'll get it when you're older."

"Weirdo." Ron said, giving him a bemused smile.

"And proud" Draco retorted, sticking his tongue out.

He spent the rest of the afternoon mucking about with the two lads, they barely got any more homework done but at least the transfiguration was out the way.

* * *

At the midnight meet up that night, he could tell Hermione wasn't in the best mood.

She kept sighing sharply and shooting him looks. Draco could see that she was getting frustrated.

"I just don't get it! They moan about doing homework with me, then they go and do it with you!" She was pacing back and forth, wringing her hands and glaring at the practise dummies against the wall. "I've offered to assist them, planned out a really helpful homework schedule that includes time off for Quidditch, when that becomes relevant of course."

She was barely breathing between sentences.

"I've tried talking to them about their interests, I know all the team member's names from the Chudley Cannons and they still avoid me!" Her eyes were filling with tears as she blinked furiously.  
Draco took a deep breath. His wife had passed away many years ago now, and he had had the time to come to terms with that loss, but here was Hermione -newly separated from everyone she loved- her family gone, her husband and best friend were children.

"Hermione," he said softly, reaching out a hand before letting it drop.

She had turned away from him and was shaking her head, holding up an arm to ward him away.

"Hermione, they aren't… He isn't the man you knew." His voice was quiet and he saw Hermione stiffen. "This Ron isn't your husband, you know that right?"

"I know" voice wobbling, Hermione's frame slumped and she sniffed quietly. "I guess I just thought," she swallowed thickly, "I thought that if I tried hard enough, that they would like me." She sighed heavily. "Look at me, being all ridiculous. It's not even been a week and I just, I feel..."

"Lonely?" He had moved closer and was peering round her bushy hair. She met his eyes with a tired smile.

"Silly isn't it? I knew it wouldn't be the same, of course I did. It feels like I've lost them, but they are still here, it hurts to look at them and be ignored." Tears clumped in her eyelashes as she blinked. "I feel like a child."

Draco hesitated only a fraction of a second before pulling her into a hug. Her crazy hair itched his face and he knew she was getting snot and tears on his pyjamas but he didn't care. Opening his mouth to speak the words 'it's going to be okay' died in his throat. How could he say that, when he had no way to keep such a promise?

"Technically, you know, we are children." He joked awkwardly, patting her back in a 'there there' manner.

He could feel her laugh against his shoulder, through the sniffing. She mumbled something before smacking him half-heartedly on the arm.

"Ah, there's the Hermione I know." He gave her a small squeeze. "It's okay, to feel lonely I mean. Everything you knew is gone." He paused, "well almost everything. You still have me and I am just wonderful company. Ask anybody. Truly a marvel of wit and charm."

She was laughing harder now, wiping at her face with a free arm.

"Raised by peacocks no less!" He exclaimed loudly releasing and arm to point at the ceiling for dramatic flare.

Hermione took the opportunity to lean out of his embrace to smile at him. "Peacocks huh? Not the albino ones?"

"The very same." He nodded sagely.

She pursed her lips, eyes trailing up to his hair. "Aesthetic?"

"Mother did always like to colour coordinate." He laughed softly.

The grating of the clock hand interrupted them, they both jolted. Hermione glanced towards it, as it began chiming.

Sparks flew across their skin, dancing the same steps as usual, before fading beneath the surface. Draco went to release Hermione but she held onto him, he cocked his head questioningly.

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and her eyes a little red, but Hermione was smiling happily at him. "I feel better knowing I'm not alone. I know it's difficult for you too and if you want to talk about it I'm here."

Throat suddenly a little tight, Draco coughed quietly, "I'll keep that in mind."

He bid her good night and watched as she vanished down the corridor.

He stayed in the room of requirement for a while after, thinking about Scorpius. And if by the time he got back to the dorm his eyes were a little red, nobody was up to mention it anyway.


	19. Chapter 19: Paint and Owls

Thank you all for your continued support!

Lots of fun in this one so i hope you enjoy!

lots of love,

Z.

* * *

The next week whizzed by in a jumble of classes, midnight meet ups, social interactions and homework sessions. Between lessons, Draco had been taking the opportunity to play catch with Harry at every opportunity. Unfortunately the boy had now learnt that the small glass balls were actually green paint bombs.

Unfortunate, in that one accidentally hit the wall outside of the potions classroom. That was, though he was loath too admit to it, his own fault. His fingers had brushed the glass as it sailed by, watched in slow-motion horror by every Slytherin, and bemusement by the Gryffindors.

Every green clad student dived away dramatically, as the ball shattered against stone. In the next moment, green dye exploded across the corridor and into the face of Severus Snape, as he stood motionless in the doorway.

No one moved.

Severus's eyes trailed across the students; the Gryffindor's rooted to the spot in terror, the Slytherins dramatically laying on the floor at the other side of the corridor, Harry pale as anything gulping like a fish and then finally Draco.

Draco was standing in the centre of the mess, dripping from head to toe in bright green ink. "Oh hey Professor." He said jauntily flashing him a smile. "How's it going?"

Needless to say he received a detention, but the high-fives he got from almost every student on his way to lunch that afternoon made it worth it.

Harry, however, was a little less enthusiastic. "Professor Snape is gonna hate me! He knows I threw it! I know he knows. He kept glaring at me all through the lesson." He whined, shooting Draco pouty looks. "I can't believe they're filled with paint, did everybody in Slytherin know?"

Draco grinned at him cheekily, opening his mouth to answer.

"Yep," Blaise interrupted, putting his arm around Harry and pulling the poor boy into a headlock. "That was beautiful Potter! I can't believe you got Draco and Snape,"

"Professor Snape" Hermione chimed in, whilst giving them all a disapproving look.

"Professor Snape" Blaise mimicked back slightly high pitched, before sticking his tongue out at her. "Straight in his face! This will be a very treasured memory, that I will look back on during the dark days and smile."

Blaise was awkwardly dragging Harry along, towards the great hall. "I didn't do it on purpose!" He whined, letting his arms flop dramatically. "I didn't know about the paint!"

Completely ignoring Harry's protesting, Blaise kept gushing over the incident, elbowing Draco with one arm and dragging Harry along with the other. Draco was starting to feel sorry for the poor sod.

"Alright Blaise let him go, you'll knock his glasses off if you keep it up." Draco shoved Blaise's head slightly and the boy released a slightly dishevelled looking Harry.

Draco fell back as the rest of the class jostled along the hall, joking and laughing together good-naturedly. Hermione joined him seconds later; she shot him a glare before rolling her eyes.

"Got something to say there Minister?" He grinned at her impishly, bumping his shoulder into her own.

"Two weeks in and you've already got a detention. What will your parents think?" She smirked at him.

"Says the woman who had a detention first week." He shot back.

"Touché."

They parted at the entrance to the great hall.

Shooting quick glance to the head table, he saw Severus watching him intently. Sending his grumpy head of house a quick salute, Draco dashed to the house table for food.

His detention wouldn't be until after dinner, so he still had the two free periods after lunch. He was debating on whether he should take this opportunity to write home to his parents. It was a weird thought, considering how tense things had gotten with them in the future. Astoria always hated visiting them, he didn't much like it either and tried to keep the pair away from Scorpius as much as possible.

Couldn't hurt to try to keep the relationship good now though right? If they managed to destroy Voldemort before he gained a body, then his family wouldn't suffer like they did in the past, or the future.

A sharp punch to his arm drew his attention to Blaise, who had apparently been trying to get his attention for the past couple of minutes.

"What the hell Blaise!" he rubbed his arm and glared as his friend.

"Oh here now are you? Punching gets your attention, Quick Theo!" he shouted pointing to the boy sitting opposite them, "write that down!"

Theo dramatically mimed rolling out parchment and scribbling down furiously. "Yes sir!"

"Ha ha you are so funny," Draco couldn't help smiling at them, "was just thinking about writing home."

"Ah. Yeah." Blaise shot a furtive glance to Severus and back again, "Think you'll get a howler?"

"For coating Severus in green ink? Doubtful, Father will probably be all 'respect your professors' and 'shame on the Malfoy name', whilst trying not to laugh." Draco chuckled.

"Severus?" Theo whispered, looking over his shoulder. Just in case their professor had swept down the hall to listen to their conversation.

"First name basis are you?" Blaise laughed out. "Wouldn't let him hear you call him that if I were you!"

"Oh, yeah…" Draco laughed awkwardly, "Father is close friends with, um… Professor Snape. Just slipped out, I guess."

"Best try and avoid it in future I'm thinking, don't want to be getting more detentions with our head of house! You'll make us all look bad!"

"Yes thank you, I shall endeavour to do my best in that regard. Is there anything else or can I get back to my food?"

"Easy Draco, just some friendly advice!" Blaise said with a laugh.

Theo spoke at the same time as Blaise. "Actually did you guys see the notice board this morning?"

"Yes! I'm so excited! Can't wait to start flying again. Of course I don't need lessons, my stepfather was a Quidditch player so I am already quite good but I do miss flying." Blaise loudly proclaimed. Not quite mentioning which of his mother's many ex-husbands it was that trained him in particular.

"Flying lessons already? Goes by fast doesn't it? Haven't been flying in a while, never found the time."

"We've literally been here two weeks Draco. You sound like such an old man." Blaise shoved Draco's head to the side, scoffing at him.

"Respect to your elders Blaise"

"Sod off you absolute twat" Blaise snorted.

"I hear we're with the Gryffindors." Theo smiled cheerfully.

"Excellent. If you ask my opinion, that lot are pretty cool. I thought they'd be right morons from what Mother was saying." Blaise shrugged. "Turns out they're alright, Neville makes a pretty good Potions partner. Bit jittery, but alright."

Draco chuckled to him self and shook his head in disbelief; if alternate 'them' could see 'them' now… Merlin, what a tantrum he would have thrown.

* * *

Hermione had written no less than twenty letters during her free periods that afternoon. She had taken up an entire section of one corner of the library. The one for her parents was written first, as it took the least time, having almost copied it from memory.

The other nineteen had been written to various members of the wizarding judicial system, ministry of magic and one Reeta Skeeta. It was a huge risk bringing such a foul, loathsome, evil little beetle into her planning. At this point in time however, Miss Skeeta had a devoted fan base and a lot of sway in the media.

She would be a useful tool.

With the hazy plan spinning round her mind, Hermione would need access to the Black family manor, for that she'd need Sirius Black and, unfortunately, Peter Pettigrew.

Getting hold of the rat would be the simple task, he could be found most days lying about the common room. It would be laughably easy to grab him; the difficult part would be exposing him as an Animagus. Sure she could cast the reversing charm to expose him, but that would raise too many unwanted questions. She needed someone else, somebody that would be infallible and quite likely to have figured it out on his or her own.

Hermione groaned laying her head atop the pile of letters. Her hands, completely smeared with ink, swung underneath the table limply. This would be so much easier if she were still Minister of Magic. She could just waltz into the Department of Law and throw her weight around. Maybe she could bribe Fudge? Oh Merlin, now she was thinking like Draco.

She huffed a laugh, before sitting up sharply and sweeping her letters into her waiting bag. No point waiting about, the faster she had Sirius the quicker they could go about purging Voldemort from the earth.

Marching quickly from the library she almost collided with an older Hufflepuff student. Skirting around him sharply Hermione headed towards the Owlery at the top of the castle. It was an arduous trek, and Hermione found herself cursing whoever came up with the idea. Why couldn't there be postal stations all round the school, or at least near the Library where most letters would probably be written?

"Hermione!" A female voice screeched.

Hermione jolted, spinning in place to witness one of her roommates, Kellah, sprinting towards her enthusiastically. The girl looked far too pleased to see her, Hermione couldn't remember doing anything that would warrant this kind of response.

"Hello Kellah," she said pleasantly, "I was just heading to the Owlery, so I'll just..." She indicated behind her and shuffled away quickly.

"Perfect!" Kellah exclaimed, falling into pace beside her. "I was heading there too! We can go together, oh I'm so glad you're here too!" Kellah was bouncing along the corridor, her satchel swinging as she went.

"You are? That's nice?" Hermione said uncertainly, eyeing the girl carefully.

"Uh huh, I don't like going up there on my own! That staircase is an accident waiting to happen! The steps barely have enough room to step on them, not to mention how twisty it is!"

"I see…" Hermione ventured, it is true that the stairs were rather small, however, Hermione was pretty certain that they were spelled for students safety.

"And then there are no windows up there! What if a breeze comes in and blows you down the stairs? What if rain comes in and makes the floor wet?" She shuddered dramatically, face scrunching up. "Then there are the birds."

"Owls"

"Owls, exactly!" Kellah pointed at Hermione. "Sharp claws"

"Talons"

"Sharp talons, vicious beaks, not to mention all that," she flapped her arms about in a rather accurate, yet comical, impression of bird panicking.

Hermione was starting to wonder if she was having some sort of surreal experience, nobody had ever sought her out or spoke to her in this manner the first time around. Harry and Ronald had been her closest friends, and that had a lot to do with the troll.

"So it's good to have a travel buddy." Kellah's voice broke her out of her daze.

"Right… Oh look, we're here." Hermione began marching up the stairs, before noticing that Kellah was hesitating and eyeing them nervously.

"You know Kellah," The girls eyes shot to meet hers, "I have a great book you might like to read, it tells you all about Hogwarts."

Kellah looked confused at the sudden change of conversation. "I don't... what?"

"It tells you all about the spells and enchantments used to make the castle safe for students. For example," Hermione took a deep breath and threw her body backwards on the stairs.

Kellah screeched and ran forward, but the stairs had already changed into a slide and Hermione slid down them ungracefully coming to a stop upside down in front of Kellah's feet.

"They also have cushioning charms on them." She said meekly looking at Kellah's frozen face.

The screech that came from Kellah's mouth made Hermione wince and echoed around the hall. "What the Hell!" It had a high-pitched frantic tone to it. "Jesus Christ!" Kellah dropped to the floor next to Hermione, "Warn a girl next time yeah?" she whispered patting Hermione's head absently.

The next second they were both giggling and gasping for breath, "Oh my God, to think I've been walking down the stairs this entire time, like a savage!" Kellah gasped. "Never again!" she lurched to her feet, "Come on Hermione! Lets send our letters, we have some sliding to do!"

Hermione followed behind as Kellah carefully walked up the stairs, one of her arms bracing against the wall.

Once in the large circular room Hermione immediately opened her bag and the letters within flew across the room and began attaching themselves to available school owls. Kellah was too busy approaching an owl near the window to notice Hermione's very impressive and very much not first year magic. Owls began swooping in every direction, shooting from the windows with impressive speed. Hermione nodded with satisfaction, before spotting Kellah squatting on the floor arms above her head.

Quickly she moved over and gently laid a hand on the girls back. She flinched before, glancing and seeing that it was Hermione.

"Oh Hey, just chilling down here. Don't' mind me" she laughed weakly, her cheeks going ruddy.

"Sorry, my fault. Here," Hermione helped Kellah back to her feet.

The poor girl had her letter clenched so hard in her hand it was crumpled and had torn slightly at the edge. Kellah hadn't noticed and her eyes were still darting about the Owlery. Gently Hermione eased the letter from Kellah's fingers and ran her palm over it, restoring it to new.

"Let me show you..." Hermione smiled encouragingly, handing the letter back.

"Okay."

Hermione politely asked an owl if they would deliver a letter for them asking it to come closer. Kellah was stiff as a board, eyeing the creature with wide eyes. Gently Hermione took Kellah's hands and showed her how to attach the letter, speaking calmly the whole time.

The owl was giving her an odd look, but held very still as though knowing Kellah was frightened. Before taking off it made eye contact with Kellah and gave her a soft reassuring hoot, ruffling its feathers gently as though making itself look cuddlier. It hopped comically across the perch before almost rolling out the window.

Kellah gasped and ran to the window, the Owl was circling and once it knew Kellah had seen, it flew off rapidly.

"Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, no doubt, no doubt." She said in a hushed tone. She turned around quickly nodding to Hermione, "You, you can come again, best travel partner ever." She spoke seriously arms folded.

Hermione felt herself fill with warmth at the girl's declaration. She grinned at Kellah then nodded to the staircase, "You want go first?"

"Maybe… um, maybe you'd like too?"

Laughing Hermione threw herself down the stairs, feet first this time. Kellah's answering laugh echoed down the spiral staircase as they spun down the slide.

"This is just like a helter-skelter!" Kellah let out a whoop of joy; they both shot out into the hallway a pile of giggles and flailing limbs.

* * *

Snape was watching him intently. Draco had been cleaning caldrons for the past fifteen minutes and had not uttered a word to his Godfather. Unless you count 'good evening Professor Snape, what a lovely dungeon office you have here', to which he had been told to work in silence.

There was something particularly disgusting in these caldrons and Draco suspected that Severus was trying to make a point. Still, he had been asked to work in silence and silence would work perfectly well for him. The fewer questions he was asked by his potions master the better. The man was a wizarding lie detector.

He could even understand why Severus had students clean the pots by hand. As a brewer himself he knew the importance of keeping unnecessary magical traces from the equipment. Even house elves left traces on things they cleaned, which meant you had to let them sit to allow the magic to dissipate from the objects, it was a nuisance and so Draco was used to cleaning by hand.

He glanced up again and met the dark eyes of his professor, still staring at him. He huffed slightly, trying very hard not to roll his eyes. Before returning to meticulously cleaning the caldrons.

An unidentifiable amount of time later Draco checked looked to Severus again, to find that the man was now working on what looked to be some poor unfortunates homework, red ink everywhere.

Draco went back to scrubbing and wondered idly how long it was until midnight. Maybe Hermione would offer him sympathy. Maybe she'd let him do today over, to avoid having a detention on his record so early in his school career.

Probably not, he'd wandered passed the library earlier in the afternoon and seen her furiously scribbling letter upon letter, her fingers stained with ink and hair frizzing about her head. He'd left her to it, knowing that interrupting would only cause strife, for him.

He laughed softly, picturing her flinging the inkpot at his head.

"Something amusing Mr Malfoy?"

Draco froze, he'd quite forgotten where he was, his hands automatically following the muscle memory of cleaning.

Shit.

"Perhaps cleaning caldrons in not a severe enough punishment for you. Perhaps it is how you enjoy spending your free time, you are very competent at it." Severus was standing next to him now, eyes glowering mouth tight.

Ah. He had probably thought that Draco was laughing at the incident earlier today. Draco's face went blank and he said nothing. Sever… Professor Snape had not given him permission to talk yet and no way was he going to add more fuel to the fire.

"Well, out with it. What was so funny that it distracted you from your task?" Professor Snape practically spat at him.

"Hermione Granger" Draco said in a panic, truth was probably the best option here right?

"What, pray tell is so funny about Miss Granger?" Snape looked less likely to explode now and was at seething level.

"Well, sir, I was walking past the library earlier, and I know how much she likes the library. So I went in to see if she was there, because that is where she usually goes during her free time." Draco babbled.

"To. The. Point."

"Right yes, well, um. She was sitting there, writing letter after letter and she had ink all over her hands and her hair was doing the frizzy static thing it does. And I thought about going over, you know to say hello." Annoy her, "And I thought that if I did she'd probably throw the ink pot at my head, so I went the other direction. And it just came back to me now, Sir, the image of her throwing the inkpot at me."

Professor Snape was now gazing at him in a way that suggested Draco had lost his mind. The man took a deep breath, as if to speak, then stopped. He stood frozen, staring straight through Draco. It was very unsettling. Not even three weeks into school and he had broken a professor.

"Sir?"

"You may go." Snape said abruptly, turning and pacing back to his desk in clear dismissal.

Not one to look a gift griffin in the mouth, Draco promptly dropped what he was doing and pelted it out the door.

It was only later at his 'midnight rendezvous' with Hermione did he learn about Severus's love for Harry's mother.

"He probably sees them in us, me the muggleborn Gryffindor and you the Slytherin version of himself."

Draco scoffed, "Only much better looking."

"And inbred."

"Wealthy."

"Snobbish."

"Sophisticated."

"My, My, Draco such big words, please talk slower."

They parted with laughter and a quick hug. Draco watched her vanish from sight before checking his book and trotting down to his Common room.  
Once he settled in bed Draco lost himself in thought, flying lessons were on Thursday and he needed a plan.


	20. Chapter 20- flying, staircases and cake

**Thank you so much to everyone for the support! all the follows and favourites have been amazing! I am loving the messages I've been receiving, thank you soooooo much!**

 **a big ol' chapter for you today as a little thanks for waiting!**

 **Flying, staircases and cake.**

* * *

Thursday loomed unexpectedly fast and Draco was panicking. He had no plan whatsoever, aside from taking Neville's remembrall and taunting Harry. Though he suspected that wouldn't work this time, mainly because Harry didn't have a deep-seated dislike of him anymore.

"If only I wasn't so charming and personable." He lamented, leaning heavily against the outer stonewall of the castle.

A distinct snort came from beside him as Hermione joined him in leaning against the wall.

"Draco Malfoy, being charming? Call the press, I have an exclusive." She deadpanned.

"Oh how witty you are, Minister." He sighed.

"You okay?" She nudged his shoulder. "You seem," she struggled for a word, "Distracted?"

He shrugged noncommittally, "I guess."

"Flying class?"

"Bloody Potter." He murmured.

Hermione chuckled and smiled at him, smacking his arm lightly.

"Thinks he's so special." He whined, just to hear her laugh again, which she did, loudly. Draco grinned at her cheekily. "With his broomstick." His impression of his younger self was spot on and he was finding it hard no to laugh himself. "And his scar."

"Oh shut up you twit!" Hermione laughed, pushing his head away from where he was leaning towards her. "You really are incorrigible."

"One on my many, many redeeming qualities I'm sure." He smirked at her, before letting it drop and staring blankly back towards the broomshed.

"Don't worry too much about it," Hermione smiled gently at him, "just…" she tapered off quietly.

"I know, I know." He sighed heavily. "I don't even think I could pick on Neville even if I were so inclined. Blaise would kill me."

"Yes, they really get on well don't they?" She mused happily.

"It's amazing how a love of Quidditch teams can bring people together." He chuckled.

"Truly wondrous."

She was smiling at him brightly now, leaning against him as the cold September wind blew at them. Her face was pink, eyes watering and every few seconds she sniffed trying –and failing- to stop the flow of snot coming from her nose. Adorable.

"Come on Hermione," He began steering her to the door, "let's get back in where it's warm. You've got snot dripping from your face and I don't want you wiping it on me."

She cackled at that, allowing him to guide them into the hallway. "Fair point," reaching into her school bag, she pulled out a pack of muggle tissues, removing one before passing it over to him.

Her gaze flicked over his face, lingering on his nose. "You've you something" she inclined her head slightly; stifling a laugh as she viciously blew her nose.

Draco's face contorted in revulsion, he quickly pulled a tissue from the small plastic packet and wiped at his own snot trail. "This is so undignified." He muttered, vanishing the tissue.

"We're children Draco, all children are covered in various mucus."

He let out a groan of despair, letting Hermione drag him along as they headed back towards the classrooms.

Their first period had been free and Draco had hoped to use it to find inspiration for the upcoming flying lesson. Hermione joined him shortly after, using her nifty little map to find him no doubt. She seemed happier today, a bit of a bounce in her step. She hadn't stopped smiling and it was infectious.

After reaching the first floor, she shooed him up the stairs and headed off to History of magic, promising to see him at flying lessons.

"Wait Hermione!" he quickly called after her dashing down the corridor, "I forgot to ask, is there any chance I can borrow a quill? Theo broke mine this morning and I forgot to get a new one out the… why are you looking at me like that?"

She had sucked her lips into her mouth and was looking apologetic. "It's just I haven't got any quills."

"No quills? What have you been writing with?"

Sheepishly she reached into her bag and pulled out, a quill…

"That's definitely a quill Hermione." He said slowly, eyeing her worriedly.

She huffed at him before twisting the feather to show the nib, which wasn't a nib. It was some sort of metal point with a tiny ball at the tip.

"It's a ballpoint pen, I was sick of ending up with ink everywhere so I just combined them? It's not perfect," she hurriedly explained. "It's just until I can work on a better design, the plastic doesn't mesh so well with the quill, but it saves all the dipping and spilled inkpots for now."

"A type of muggle pen?" He hedged cautiously.

"Yes"

"That doesn't require getting ink all over oneself?"

"Not unless you smash it, no."

"Hermione, you are a genius."

Despite her already pink face, from being outside, Draco saw her turn a few shades darker.

"Oh um, thank you." She smiled happily, "If you're alright with it, then I guess you can borrow one." She handed him the one in her hand, "you can be my tester and, um, if you like it you can keep it?"

The bell suddenly echoed through the halls jarring them both. The doors flew open down the corridor and students began streaming from them.

Quickly Draco hugged her giving her a quick peck on the cheek as thanks, pelted along the corridor and up the stairs waving his quill as a goodbye. He could just about hear her laugh through the din.

He made it just in time to enter the classroom before the door closed; glancing about he spotted Blaise sitting alone and proceeded to plonk down next to him.

"Where'd you go?" Blaise asked, eyebrow raised, giving him an unimpressed once over. "You look like you've been thrown from one of the towers," the boy's lip curled "and you're dripping snot."

"Ah, thanks," Draco pulled Hermione's pack of tissues from his pocket, "went for a bit of fresh air, invigorates the soul and all that." He blew his nose noisily, grinning at Blaise's shudder.

Blaise chose to ignore his lack of decorum, instead turning and pulling out his new black folder. Smugly he gazed around the room as he placed it on his desk. His name glinted in silver embossed writing. Hermione had really outdone herself with Blaise and Theo's folders. She even added a little Slytherin crest in shimmering silver in the corner.

Draco rolled his eyes; Blaise had been doing this all week, as soon as Hermione had presented him with it in fact. Theo was hardly any better, but at least he had stopped gloatingly flashing it about.

Pursing his lips, Draco removed his own folder; he had a sneaking suspicion that Hermione had done it on purpose to annoy him. He didn't mind that his one didn't have the Slytherin crest, really he didn't. He supposed his one looked more elegant and adult.

He saw Blaise watching him out of the corner of his eye, so he laid his new ballpoint quill atop his folder with a flourish. He was not being petty.

"What's that?" Came Blaise's immediate response.

"What? Oh this?" He said picking up the feather and holding the pen tip towards Blaise, "Hermione gave it to me, it's a muggle thing. Don't have to dip it into ink or anything." He said with feigned nonchalance.

"Let me see." Blaise grabbed for it, but Draco was quicker.

"No time for that now Blaise, it's learning time, shame on you." Draco dutifully opened his folder and began writing down the notes on the board. So he occasionally flicked his quill too much, didn't make him petty.

"Favouritism, that's what this is." Blaise grumbled from beside him.

"Absolutely" Draco flashed his teeth at Blaise, and the boy chuckled at him.

Draco spent the rest of the day showing off his new muggle quill in every class he was in. Flashing it about and making no attempt to hide his glee, it was a nice distraction from his task later on. He had several Ravenclaw's show interest in his new curiosity and agreed to see if he could get some for them too. Perhaps Hermione would be willing to do a little bit of a side business with him.

Flying class came about with much excitement from all his classmates, and they headed out to the grounds with much exuberance. Chucking their school bags into a massive pile by the broomshed, they followed Madame Hooch's instructions and lined up for her speech about safety.

Draco's eyes wandered and settled on Hermione, she was shuffling along the crowd and kept looking up at the castle, then down to the ground as though calculating something. Moving quickly he ducked down and approached her. He grabbed her arm just as she was about to cast a cushioning charm on the grass.

"You can't Hermione." He whispered softly.

Madame Hooch's gaze turned sharply towards them and they straightened as though paying attention.

"Why not?" she muttered, barely moving her lips.

"Because if he doesn't need to go to the hospital wing, then we won't be left unsupervised." He squeezed her arm, before letting go. "I'm sorry. I don't want him to get hurt either."

"I know."

She let him draw her away from the offending spot of grass, as the class began to line up alongside their brooms. Hermione kept glancing at Neville and chewing on the inside of her mouth. Draco felt his stomach drop as they were instructed to mount their brooms.

Shit, he couldn't do it. He couldn't knowingly let a child be injured.

Neville's broom shot into the air, and so did Draco's.

* * *

Hermione gasped as Neville left the ground beside her, shooting into the sky like a rocket. Her wand was in her hand before she knew it, but Draco rendered her unnecessary. He zoomed into the sky, quickly approaching Neville.

The next few moments happened so fast Hermione wasn't sure she witnessed it correctly.

Neville's grip loosened and he slid from his broom like a sack of potatoes. Her heart lurched into her throat and she let out a cry that was taken up by those around her. Then Draco was hanging by one arm and leg, gripping Neville's forearm with his hand.

The next thing she knew there was a blast of air next to her, as Harry also shot into the sky. He grabbed Neville's other arm and between them the boys dragged poor Neville onto Draco's broom.

Everyone clapped, cheered and yelled, Hermione laughed slightly hysterically, gripping her wand to her chest.

A scream broke out as Harry suddenly dived at an incredible speed towards the ground, spinning in place and pulling up just inches from impact. His face was red and he was clutching a small glinting object in his fingers.

"Got it Neville!" He screeched, waving his arm enthusiastically, the small remembrall shining in the light.

Draco slowly lowered his broom to the ground, and Hermione could see that Neville was shaking and had a death grip around Draco's waist. Both Harry and Draco landed their brooms unsteadily before sliding heavily to the floor. Harry tried to hand Neville back his remembrall, but he wouldn't let go of Draco and was blinking back tears.

Poor boy needed a bit of calming draught, which she mentioned to Madame Hooch before offering to take Neville to the hospital wing.

Madame Hooch looked like she didn't know whether to praise or punish the boys for their actions, she settled on giving them a lecture on recklessness as well as five points a piece for quick thinking.

Hermione gave Draco a soft smile as she pried Neville loose from him; Draco grimaced back as he took a deep breath. Neville had been practically crushing his ribcage.

As she moved Neville gently away from the training ground, the rest of the class began heaping praise on Harry and Draco. Both boys shakily got up from the floor. She looked back one last time, making eye contact with Draco, who had been watching her leave; he smiled sheepishly, face flushed and eyes bright.

Professor McGonagall rushed past her and Neville as they made their way up to the Hospital wing, quickly stopping to check that 'the poor boy' was all right, before vanishing down the stairs faster than Hermione had ever seen her move before. Hermione was finding it difficult not to grin as she murmured soft encouragements to Neville.

A couple of sips of calming draught and Neville was feeling much better, his eyes still had a slightly wide look to them, but other than that, all good. Hermione sat with him and they chatted about random things; food, holidays, school, anything to keep Neville's mind off the fact he had nearly dropped an undisclosed height –as Hermione wasn't going to tell him- from a broomstick.

Not even half an hour later, Dean, Seamus and Ron ran into the Hospital wing. They were carrying Neville and Hermione's bags all chattering excitedly, arms waving as they relayed the event from their point of view.

"How… how high?" Neville squeaked, face turning pale as Ron began a dramatic retelling of Neville flying through clouds.

"Not that high." Hermione patted his arm reassuringly, taking that as her cue to leave.

She quietly slipped out the door, whipping out her book and asking it courteously where she might find Draco Lucius Malfoy. It didn't take long to find him, because he was right where she left him. Most of the class had stayed behind, sitting about in the grass laughing and talking raucously. Draco had a small crowd round him all trying to slap him on the back and tell him 'how awesome' he had been.

She glanced round and didn't see Harry, so McGonagall had taken him to meet Oliver after all. Excellent, everything seemed to have worked out quite well, one less thing to worry about now anyway.

Draco spotted her through the limbs flailing at him, and ducked away citing a need to go to the loo. "All that excitement has gone straight through me, if you'll please excuse me."

He frantically motioned for her to turn around and go back inside, laughing quietly she quickly ran back into the castle and waited for him.

"Like bloody piranhas, I have never been so accosted in all my life." He exclaimed as he fell into step beside her. He was adjusting his collar, which was half up, and trying to fix his tie at the same time. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and his shirt had become un-tucked.

"Why do they have an incessant need to smack my head? What does that accomplish? Ruffling their fingers through my hair, personal space be damned." He was complaining loudly, but his face was red and he couldn't stop smiling. Rambling out of embarrassment most likely.

"I thought you were amazing." Hermione stated, linking her arm through his.

Draco slammed his mouth shut and looked at her sharply.

"Very brave." She said looking straight ahead, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah." He said softly, then more confidently "yeah I guess I was, wasn't I?"

"Very much so," she nodded firmly.

"Of course anyone would have done the same." He said, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Of course."

"Just doing my duty."

"My hero." She purred at him, grinning.

He laughed delightedly, practically skipping along, before stopping dead still. Hermione looked at him curiously, he was chewing on his inner cheek slightly, gaze flitting to her.

"Um Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise, I mean I didn't want you too think that I'd... And then you didn't mention it, so I didn't want to push…"

Hermione waited patiently for Draco to stop rambling.

He turned to her smiling, "Happy Birthday!" he breathed.

Hermione blinked owlishly at him, it wasn't as though she'd forgotten the date, and she'd written it at the top of her parchments all day. She just, hadn't told anyone it was her birthday. Realising she was standing there gaping at him, Hermione sharply closed her mouth and smiled at him.

"How did you…?"

"Please." He waved his hand at her, "It's practically a national holiday, Granger day or something."

"Nobody calls it that." She laughed.

"Well I remembered, okay? And I, well we," he inclined his head slightly as though motioning to other people, "have organised a little celebration for you."

Hermione could feel her throat tightening and her vision getting blurry. With a squeal of happiness she threw her arms round Draco crushing him tightly to her.

"Easy Minister!" Draco gasped "still not over Neville's death grip!"

She released him with a wet chuckle, wiping her eyes on her sleeves.

"So you'll go? And pretend to be surprised so the others don't kill me?" He added in a rush.

Hermione was filled with such warmth, managing just a soggy nod and a weepy smile.

"Save it for the reaction later," Draco patted her head. "Come on Hermione lets go hide you until dinner."

"Okay" she weakly muttered, slipping her hand into his as he led her through the castle.

* * *

"Do you think it's too much?" Fred asked tilting his head and gazing around the small classroom he was standing in. They'd chosen one on the second floor, just off the stairs. Fred knew for a fact that it hadn't been used in all the years they'd been at Hogwarts, which made it perfect.

"Nonsense!" cried George swinging his legs wildly. George was currently dangling under a broom one handed. The other hand was busily stuffing a wodge of banner into the ceiling. Over his arm was a vast array of ribbons, paper streamers, glowing lanterns and baubles.

He continued to haphazardly float around the ceiling, cheerfully smacking the collection into the stone as he went.

"I think it's just the right amount of celebratory pizazz!" he yelled, viciously throwing more ribbons everywhere.

"True, true. I do concede Georgie my boy it's certainly party-esque."

"Thanks," George huffed, twisting about in the air to shoot his twin a smirk. "I got this, you go hit up the kitchen."

"Any requests?"

"Edible stuffs."

"Plan."

Fred skipped out the old classroom, chuckling as he went, and proceeded to head down the stairs to the dungeons.

About half way down he heard a loud whooping screech, followed by a vast array of swearing and yelling.

Pausing and snapping his head in the direction of the commotion, Fred had a split second to register the sound of the steps clunking down, before his feet were whipped from beneath him and he slid down the now smooth stone.

He let out a surprised yelp, arms bracing either side of his body as he flew down the marble slide.

Glancing back he could make out about ten other students sliding haphazardly behind him, some were head first, a couple were rolling as they went and one young girl was smiling like a loon waving her hands in the air letting out a whoop as they bounced across the landing onto the next set of stairs.

"I'm gonna kill you Kellah!" One particularly green looking firstie girl was screeching. Her hand flew too her mouth as she rocketed past him, blonde hair twisting in all directions.

Kellah seemed unbothered by this, he assumed the super happy one was Kellah, she just laughed louder.

Fred joined in her laughter, and raised his hands allowing his body to pick up speed. They barrelled down the main staircase at a dangerous pace, before skidding across the main hall in a mass of flailing limbs and screeching.

They hit the wall with a loud thud and much groaning.

"What is going on?" McGonagall's voice boomed from the top of the stairs.

Fred could hear her boots thudding along the upper corridor; he reckoned he has a few seconds, before the stairs reformed, in which to escape. No way was he getting a detention tonight, especially when it wasn't his prank.

He rolled sharply from the pile of students, using the surrounding onlookers as a shield. Moving quickly he slid down a small side corridor, before standing up and pelting it down a tiny spiral staircase.

He slammed into the wall outside the kitchens panting heavily. Man that was close! Moving urgently he tickled the pear and when it turned into a doorknob he grabbed it quickly and flung himself into the kitchens.

He sat heavily on the nearest bench and began cackling. That Kellah girl was a genius! He definitely needed to find out how she did that! Oh George was going to be pissed he missed it! Still laughing, Fred wiped away some tears and accepted a glass of orange juice from a nearby elf.

He explained to them that he needed food for a surprise party, and that they were holding it on the second floor in the first classroom. In a flurry the elves set to work, dashing around in all directions food flying past on enchanted platters.

There was a sudden slam noise and every head turned towards the portrait door.

Fred was surprised to see Kellah standing at the entrance, her dark eyes wide and mouth gaping. She let out a small unintelligible shriek, flapping her hands. She must have followed him in an effort to escape McGonagall.

Within seconds she was inundated with elves offering her drinks and snacks, each clambering over the other in their eagerness.

"Back off guys, it's her first time." Fred shouted, getting up to gently push the eager elves away from the shell-shocked girl. "Alright?" He said gently, "Kellah was it?"

Kellah nodded, her eyes still focused on the busy elves.

"First time seeing a house elf is it?"

"Oh. My. God!" She screeched, and began bouncing on her feet.

Fred recoiled from the loud shout, backing into the wall.

"Christmas elves! I knew it! I knew it!" She jumped forward pointing dramatically at a small elf hovering near her. "Where is Santa?"

Fred could only watch in bemusement as the Girl proceeded to accuse the elves of working for some muggle present deliverer. All while the elves assured her in their high-pitched voices that they 'only works for Hogwarts miss' and 'we does not know a Mr Santa miss'.

A sharp tug on his sleeve drew Fred's attention down to a pair of large brown eyes watching him imploringly.

"Yous food is readys sir. We has taken it to the party room." The elf glanced meaningfully towards the shouting Gryffindor in the middle of the kitchen. "We must prepare for dinner now sir."

"Of course! Right you are, just let me…" He dodged round the tables and firmly grabbed the back of Kellah's jacket, "Thank you all so much for the assistance, we really appreciate it! Have a fine evening ladies and gents."

Kellah was wriggling against his hold and pointing indignantly towards the elves, "But…"

"Would you rather they throw us out themselves?" She stopped fighting him and allowed herself to be pulled into the corridor, grumbling the whole time.

Once they were in the hall, Fred turned to her and held out his hand, "Fred, at your service, Kellah."

She took his hand cautiously and he shook it firmly.

"Love what you did with the staircase Kellah, big fan! My brother and I will want to know how you did that by the way." He shot her a wink, and gestured for her to follow him. He wanted to avoid the main hall entirely so he headed down to the lower level and up a spiral staircase that would plonk them out on the seventh floor.

"Oh, well that's easy. I just threw myself down them."

"You just…?"

"Yep!" She shot her hand out like a rocket and made plummeting sounds. "They have safety features of course, to protect the students. It's all in Hogwarts a history."

"Wow, who knew reading was actually useful?"

"Well I didn't read it myself, but I was panicking about going up the staircase to the Owlery. You know cause it's exposed to the elements and the steps are tiny and slippery. What happens if you fall? How long would it take for someone to find you? You could easily crack your head open and bleed out in moments!"

She was barely stopping to breathe, speaking a mile a minute. Fred didn't know how she was doing it, he was panting from all the steps.

"Right, was there a point?"

"Hmm? Oh right, anyway Hermione said that I couldn't possibly hurt myself because the stairs would catch me. Well no she didn't, she damn near gave me a heart attack that's what she did, but it's one less thing to worry about you know?"

"Granger?"

"Oh yes you know her?"

"Friends with me and my brother."

"Oh how wonderful! Now we can all be friends. This is so great!"

"Yeah." He distractedly stuck his head into the seventh floor corridor, before pulling Kellah quickly along the corridor and behind a tapestry. "This is the most direct route to the Gryffindor corridor."

"Wow you know loads of secret passageways!" Kellah was following very close to his heels, as they moved down the small passage. "Bit dark in here isn't it?" She stage whispered, her voice a little shaky.

Sighing Fred grabbed his wand and whispered "lumos". He almost heard the tension leave Kellah's body as the light enveloped them.

"It's a tunnel."

"The ceiling won't come down will it?" She glanced up worriedly.

He shot her an incredulous look; "It's lasted for hundreds of years, so I think we're okay."

She opened her mouth to say something else, so he quickly cut across her, "So about Hermione, It's her birthday today."

"It is? She didn't say anything! Oh no!"

"Don't worry, we're planning a little surprise party."

"You are? How brilliant!"

"Yeah, so anyway I was gonna go common room and grab some of Hermione's mates, seeing as you're here already, wanna help?"

"Oh I'd love too!" She suddenly looked really sad, "But I haven't got her a present or anything."

"Don't worry about that, the party is the present! I've got George decorating a classroom off the second corridor; the elves have delivered the grub we just have to fetch the guests! Draco is gonna bring her when we have all arrived."

They quickly made their way into the common room, Fred saluted the fat lady as they passed, and Kellah quickly ran across the room and pelted it up the stairs to her dorm room.

Fred spotted Ron and Harry sitting in a corner by the fire, frowning at what appeared to be a horrid mess of parchment and books.

"Alright lads, how's it going?"

Ron squinted at him for a sec, "Hey Fred, think it's time to give up on this shit, don't you Harry?" he said gesturing to their homework pile.

"I can't remember what subject this is supposed to be anymore." The spectacled boy moaned slamming his head into the table.

"Is it due tomorrow?"

"Na, but we thought we'd get it done cause Wood wants Harry to…." Ron suddenly went red and stopped speaking.

"Told you he'd shove a broom up your arse if you told anyone about our new secret weapon did he?"

Fred chuckled, shoving his brother playfully, "Relax I already know, me and George are beaters on the team Harry." He winked, "So we'll make sure you don't get bloodied up too bad."

"Thanks?" Harry whispered; looking altogether horrified at the thought of being bloodied up even a little bit.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about it, nobody's died in years."

Both younger boys weakly chuckled at that, Ron eyeing Harry worriedly.

"Anyway listen, it's Hermione's birthday today and me an George are throwing a little surprise for her. Second floor corridor, first classroom, they'll be cake and fizzy stuff, you lads in?"

"It's her birthday?" Harry said quietly.

"Yeah sounds good, when?" Ron spoke over Harry.

"Bout half an hour, gonna start during dinner." Fred patted Harry's shoulder gently, the lad looked a little pained. "Don't worry Harry, she kept it quiet from everyone. We only knew because of dear Draco."

"Oh, okay…" He still looked a little worried and was fiddling with some parchment absently.

"Look, mate, how about you and Ron go get your other pals and make sure you get down to the party room ay? Then you can make sure Hermione has a great Birthday." He smiled encouragingly at the bespectacled boy.

Ron rolled his eyes letting out a huff, "Come on Harry, let's go, before Fred gets any sappier."

They both trundled off to their dorm as Fred and Ron waved their middle fingers at each other. "Twat" Fred shouted gleefully after his brother.

"Wanker."

Fred sat waiting on the sofa for about three minutes before deciding that the kids could make their own way down, he'd go see if George needed any help.

Turns out George already had help.

Fred strolled into the 'party headquarters' to find a group of Slytherin first years moving with purpose and organisation. A small pale girl with a severe black bob was loudly directing her 'minions', waving her wand in short stabbing motions with an air of authority.

Fred watched in bemusement as they scurried around her, rearranging the tables, food platters and decorations. She spotted him quickly and, turning her stubby nose in the air, scathingly inquired as to why he had returned without bringing the wireless or at least a gramophone.

"I'm Fred, I assume you mean George?" he said with a smile.

"Oh Morgana, there's two of you?" She sighed before indicating that he assist a young black boy with hanging a large banner that had the flashing words 'Happy Birthday Hermione' on them.

Blaise, for that was the lad's name, said they'd got some older students to help them make it when he enquired about the charm work.

"Impressive, Slytherins got skills."

"Of course." Blaise was looking quite smug.

George stumbled into the room suddenly, disrupting the organisation, his legs buckling under the weight of a very large gramophone. "Where'd ya want it Parkinson?" He yelled, wobbling in place.

A couple of big beefy Slytherin boys ran forward to help him support the base, and Parkinson directed them into a corner where she'd left a space.

A few minutes later and the gramophone had been synced up to the WWN, music by Spellbound blasting into the room.

The Gryffindor girls and boys arrived shortly after, Ron immediately grabbing some snacks and shovelling them into his face, and Harry approached Fred smiling happily.

"Hey Fred, Blaise." He glanced around eyes wide. "It looks like someone let off a super explosive party popper in here. I like it."

Fred wasn't really sure what a party popper was, but if it made mess and exploded he was all for it, "Thanks Harry, I let George decorate. He has quite the creative flair. Although It looks like Parkinson took over in the organising after I left."

"That's really nice of her."

"Loves a party, does Pansy." Blaise chuckled, "Any excuse to boss people around."

They all laughed, grinning and watching as the others bounced around.

"She's coming! Hide!" Kellah screeched running into the room waving her arms.

"There is nowhere to hide you dope!" The blonde girl from earlier yelled back, she looked a little less green now.

"Oh yeah."

The room fell into silence as George held up the needle on the gramophone; they fidgeted restlessly as they waited for Hermione to come in.

"You sure you saw her?" Daphne drawled when nothing happened for a minute.

"Yes, now shush! I hear them!" Kellah smushed her hand into Daphne's mouth and the blonde girl let out a muted sound of disgust.

The door creaked open slowly.

As soon as Hermione was visible in the doorway the room exploded into sound. George dropped the needle and music came blasting into the room as people yelled happy birthday and jumped up and down in excitement.

Hermione's face was one of total shock before she began laughing and hugging everyone, her eyes shining.

They had a bunch of party games organised, including; pin the tail on the Hippogriff, knock down gnome, giant snakes and ladders (with moving snakes), flying seahorse fishing and an old muggle game called Twister.

Neville was setting up the gnome skittles in the corner with Blaise whilst everyone was excitedly moving around the party room. Making eye contact with Draco, Fred gave him a 'thumbs up' and a wink. The boy responded with a wide grin.

He checked his watch; they had hours of fun until they'd have to run back to the dorms.

"Right!" piped up George, "Who wants to play knock down gnome?"


	21. Chapter 21-All for apple pie

**Thank you for all the follows! Sorry for the long wait!**

* * *

Hermione was having so much fun. She had eaten her body weight in cake, danced, sung and absolutely smashed it at party games. This was the most silliness she'd ever had at a birthday party and it was brilliant.

It was much later in the evening now and a few kids were sitting on the floor, dozing against the walls. Neville was snoring lightly. Ron was still managing to eat things, laughing as he did it, spraying food everywhere.

Her face ached from all the laughing and smiling she'd been doing.

She had actually been surprised when Draco led her into the room; it looked like all the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years had come together to celebrate her birthday. She hadn't even spoken to many of them before today, but she had vowed to change that and immediately set about chatting to everyone present. The party games were a good icebreaker and enabled her to really connect with some of the other children.

Turns out Pansy had a very dry sense of humour and a competitive streak that rivalled her own. It was odd to speak to her at first; Pansy had given her an oddly appraising look, before challenging her to a game of knock down Gnome.

They might actually become friends, what a thought.

Gazing lazily around the room, her eyes met George's and she blinked sleepily at him.

He was lying on the twister matt eating profiteroles in a daze. His eyes seemed to focus on her slowly, before he swore and jolted up sharply, George agitatedly looked round the room.

"What time is it?" He yelled, eyes wide.

Fred lazily flicked his wand and a ghostly clock hung, mockingly, in front of them.

There was a pause, followed by frantic movement as every student suddenly bolted for the door.

"We've got 5 minutes, go- go- go!"

Curfew had hit.

The race was on.

The Slytherins fled to the dungeons, Draco in the lead, casting 'silencing' and 'notice me not' charms as he fled.

Fred took the lead for the Gryffindors, and they bolted up a small side staircase.

Hermione noticed that Ron and Harry were not behind her and she let out a huff before pausing to wait for them. Turns out Ron had taken the time to grab a slice of apple pie before they left and Harry, being loyal, had waited for him.

"We don't have time for this!" Hermione hissed, grabbing Harry by the arm, she practically dragged him up the stairs.

Ron just shrugged at her as he stuffed the remainder of the pie in his mouth.

They ran silently past the exit for the third corridor and had almost made it to the fourth floor before slamming straight into Neville.

They fell in a graceless heap, letting out curses, yells and, unfortunately, the rest of Ron's apple pie.

Neville anxiously shushed at them, viciously waving his arms, his face pale and tight.

The soft flickering of flames could be heard, echoing in the silence, alongside a slight scuffing and scratching of something against stone.

A wheezing gritty voice slinked down the staircase, they all froze barely breathing.

"Whose down there? Is it student out of bed my sweet?"

Hermione swore viciously, internally of course, the only way to go was down.

Kicking and pushing, Hermione forced the three boys back down the stairs and dragged them out onto the third floor corridor.

"Shitting hell," she hissed, pulling them down the corridor towards Fluffy's door.

Ron had cottoned onto her thinking and ran ahead, yanking on the handle. "It's fucking locked!" He despaired, turning his eyes back to the others in horror.

"Oh move over!" Hermione shoved him out the way, "Alohamora!"

Door open, they bundled into the corridor and Harry slammed it shut behind them. They boys all backed away from it, watching warily.

Hermione, however, had her wand at the ready; she conjured a harp instantly and set it to playing at an almost imperceptible level, imperceptible for humans that it.

Fluffy held eye contact with her for half a second before slumping to the floor with a huff of air.

The three spun on the spot, Neville letting out a scream before Ron slapped a hand across his mouth clamping it shut.

As a unit they shuffled back until they were pressed against the door.

Ron was still holding Neville firmly, with Harry wedged tightly into his side. Hermione held one finger to her lips flicking eye contact between them.

Fluffy's hot breath blasted them with every exhale; thick gloopy saliva dribbling from his three giant jaws, Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. Fluffy would stay asleep until the harp stopped, so it'd probably be best to wait a few more minutes before trying to make their way past Filch. She needed to check her book to be extra safe but with her fellow Gryffindors peering over her shoulder it'd be a bit tricky.

Harry began frantically tapping at her shoulder and making gestures at the door, his eyes wide and breathing shallow. Ron had not taken his eyes off Fluffy, outwardly he looked calm, but his face was too pale and his grip on Neville too tight, causing the boy in question to wince.

Gently Hermione removed Ron's hand and whispered quietly that if the creature was still asleep after them barging in, that it probably wouldn't wake up now. Slowly she reached around Neville and cracked open the door to peer into the area beyond.

It was pitch black and silent.

Nothing moved in the darkness.

Probably safe.

"Hermione." Harry whispered, "Can we go? Please?" his voice shaky and tense.

She could feel Neville nodding in agreement next to her arm, or that could just be him shaking in general.

"Stay close," quietly slipping from the doorway; Hermione slinked down towards the main staircase. She just needed to keep an eye on Filch to old-fashioned way, no book this time.

With three bodies pressed tightly against her, they moved quickly and quietly through the school.

Every shadow was Filch, every sound Mrs Norris.

Her heart was in her throat, blood pumping loud in her ears, stomach flittering nervously.

Adrenaline was coursing through her body and Hermione was exhilarated. Aware that she was grinning like a maniac, Hermione tried to control her smile as they dashed towards the fat lady.

"More of you?" The Fat Lady exclaimed, "And just where on Earth have you all been?" Her nose was wrinkled as she took in their flushed sweaty faces, crumpled clothing and various crumbs of pie stuck in their hair. They must look a sight.

"Never mind that- Pig snout, pig snout!" Harry gasped at her.

Neville ran forward and began tugging at the frame, desperately.

"Well I never!" The Fat lady cried, as she swung open with a huff.

They piled into the portrait hole, collapsing onto the floor as the frame slammed sharply behind them.

Loud whoops and cheering accosted their ears, causing Hermione to flinch.

Already highly strung, Neville's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he flopped, boneless, into the rug beneath him.

Harry and Ron let out sharp yells, scrambling to their feet.

Fred and George barrelled over, pulling Ron into a crushing hug between them.

"You made it!"

"And Filch didn't get you!"

"Oh Ronnikins we're so proud!"

Ron was swearing at them viciously, wriggling and trying to get away, as the rest of the common room laughed.

Harry was edging around them trying to slip past and into the common room unnoticed, to no avail.

"Harry!" One of the twins' grabbed at the boy and he twisted moving quickly to evade them.

Undeterred, this particular twin released Ron and began chasing Harry, proclaiming how proud he was of him. Before long Harry was laughing and spinning around the room, jumping over the chairs and climbing over people.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione crawled along the floor and leaned over Neville. Poor boy was out cold, probably still shaken from the earlier flying lesson; this little adventure had just tipped him over the edge.

Gently she eased his head up from the floor, quickly summoning and sliding a cushion beneath. He would be fine, just needed some rest. She paused, and possibly some more calming draught, just in case.

"Need a hand getting him to bed?" George, she guessed, had released Ron and was peering down at her, smiling gently.

"Thank you, George?"

He nodded in confirmation, eyes crinkling with mirth. "Got it in one 'Mione." He crouched down sliding his arms under Neville. "Get the legs?"

Nobody paid attention to them, aside from a quick cursory glance, as they slowly meandered their way to the boy's dorms, Neville swinging between them. It was a little tricky getting him up the stairs, Hermione was a little embarrassed to say she nearly dropped him more than once.

They paused at the very top of the spiral staircase, George struggled to balance Neville as he tried to open the door.

"George, let me."

He frowned at her confused for a second, before his eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Holy shit… I totally forgot… yeah, sure go ahead."

Focusing, Hermione pushed open the door with a trickle of wandless magic.

George watched it, grinning lopsidedly, "Huh, neat."

Hoisting Neville up a little more, George backed into the dorm. He paused looking around with hesitantly, "Uh d'ya know which is?"

"Third on the left" Hermione inclined her head, "It's got the toad on it."

"Right you are."

They gently rolled him onto the bed, tucking him in and placing Trevor onto the side table.

With a flick of her wrist, Hermione's bag came zooming up the stairs and into her hand with a clunk. Flipping the top open she summoned a small vial of calming draught, plopping it down next to the toad. Taking a small piece of parchment, she wrote Neville a little note and slid it under the vial.

George poked it and she slapped his hand away sharply. "No touching."

He huffed at her, "Fine. What is it anyway?"

"Calming draught, we had a bit of an incident on the way back and after falling from his broom today…" she sighed heavily, gently stroking Neville's hair. "I just think he might need it is all."

George cleared his throat, eyes darting about the room. "Close are you?"

She hummed lightly, "He's a very good friend. Least I can do is watch out for him, while he needs it anyway."

"He's a lucky chap then." George winked at her.

She laughed, "You're my friend too remember?"

"Lucky me too." He hesitated, "What sort of-"

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron screeched, bursting into the dorm with Harry hot on his heels. The door banged loudly against the wall as he barged into the room. "If any dog needs exercise, that- " He pulled sharply to a stop mouth gaping open.

"What are you doing in here?" His eyes darted to his brother then back to her, "This is the boys dorm!" He whispered glancing behind him.

"Oh Ronnikins you sound like a scandalised old witch."

Ron spluttered, his ears turning maroon. "I do not!"

The brothers continued to snark at each other as Harry carefully pushed Ron out the way, "Is Neville okay? He hasn't had the best day, has he?"

"He'll be fine Harry, just the stress. We'll get Madame Pomfrey to check him over in the morning, but he's got a potion to sort him out for now." She patted Harry's arm softly. "You okay?" Ducking her head and looking into Harry's eyes, she smiled at him.

"Can I answer that tomorrow?" He laughed weakly.

"Bit more exciting than you thought school would be huh?"

"Oh my God. It could have eaten us." He rubbed the back of his neck, "lucky it was asleep really."

"Very. Although," She eyed him appraisingly, "not sure you'd make much of a meal."

He laughed, surprised.

"Toothpick maybe." She bumped his shoulder with her own, grinning.

"Hey! I'd make a great dog treat."

"I believe you."

Harry snorted, turning his head away to glance at Neville. He began fiddling with the edge of his sleeves absently, as he watched the chubby boy sleep.

"What even was that thing?" He asked quietly.

"A Cerberus," She answered immediately, the words gushing forwards. "A giant three headed dog native to Greece. Most likely it's the species that inspired the legends about the guardian of the underworld." She cut herself off sharply from launching into an exhaustive explanation about Greek myths and legends. Not really the audience for such a thing.

"Uh, cool? I guess. I mean, it's cool as long as I never have to see it again."

Hermione huffed a laugh, "Sounds good to me."

"I just don't get why Dumbledore would want to keep that dog in the school," He frowned.

"Honestly," Hermione flicked his forehead, "you don't use your eyes do you?" Her tone was soft and she smiled at him fondly, "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested, drawing the words out sarcastically. "I wasn't looking at it's feet I was too busy with it's heads." He raised his eyebrows at her, a slight smile on his face.

"Not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor, obviously guarding something if you ask me."

Harry hummed thoughtfully at that, probably thinking about the stone that Hagrid took from Gringotts. Not that Harry knew it was a stone.

Ron and George were animatedly talking behind them, getting louder and louder.

Hermione noted absently that Ron was relaying their night-time adventure to his brother.

Ah. He was just getting to the bit about Fluffy…

"A GIANT THREE HEADED WHAT?"

And on that note, Hermione decided it was time to head to bed.

* * *

Draco, on the other hand, had a completely uneventful trip down to the Slytherin dorm. Dashing haphazardly down stairs and sprinting down the corridor, they made good time. Nobody even gave them a second glance as the gaggle of first years came ploughing into the common room.

Congratulating each other happily, on a wonderful escape, the little Slytherins all tottered along to the comfort of their beds.

As Draco lay there, he thought about how cute Hermione had been today. She practically bounced around the room in excitement. He'd never seen her so animated during school, the first time round anyway.

It felt really good to just be a kid again. Neither of them really had much time to enjoy school, what with the immediate return of 'he who has no nose'.

If Hermione and he were able to destroy that slithery bastard as soon as possible, then at least the other children would be able to grow up safe.

Draco set his alarm, and then dropped down happily into bed for a couple of hours of sleep.

* * *

"And then, would you believe it, he was coming down the staircase from above!"

"Filch?"

"Bloody Filch!" Hermione let out a screech, shaking her fists. "So, through no effort on my part, we still ended up in the gods damned third floor corridor." She flopped dramatically back into the large squashy armchair, letting out a long sigh.

Draco pursed his lips trying to hold in the laugh that threatened to come forth. He cleared his throat, "and Neville, he just?"

"Oh my goodness, I fear we have scarred him for life." She dropped her head into her hands. "He just went totally boneless, I had to get George to help me carry him to bed."

Draco unintentionally snorted a laugh. Clamping his hands over his mouth he watched Hermione with wide eyes.

She peeked at him through her fingers, shooting him the Granger glare. "Don't you dare."

Draco started shaking with suppressed laughter, snorting through his fingers, tears pooling in his eyes. "I can't," he wheezed. "Oh Merlin, poor bastard but…" Draco couldn't help himself he just started laughing.

"Oh shush" Hermione smacked his head, but she was smiling too. "It's not funny. Stop laughing." She started chuckling whilst shaking her head. "You are incorrigible, honestly."

"Sorry." He said, completely unapologetically, grinning at her.

"No you're not."

"Not even a little bit. I do feel bad for Neville though, it is always him isn't it?"

"Yeah" she said softly. "And now Harry has probably got it in his head that he needs to investigate, because adults can't be trusted to sort this out themselves. Oh Merlin, He is going to start following Professor Snape around all suspicious and stuff."

Draco nodded his head thoughtfully, humming. Although he did agree that Harry would most likely jump on this mystery like a niffler on gold, he didn't think Severus would be the target.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You have that face on. Tell me your thoughts 'oh Great Malfoy.'"

"Whose incorrigible again?"

That got him another smack.

"Alright, alright Minister, so violent."

"You love it."

Draco cleared his throat, turning to give her a deadpan stare. She responded by rolling her head in a 'go on then' motion.

"Right. Well I was just thinking, Harry kind of likes Sev now yeah?"

"Right, so?"

"So maybe he won't fixate on that teacher, he may, in fact, focus on the correct teacher."

"That could put him in danger if Quirrell thinks Harry is on to him."

"Right, yeah, of course but, and please don't hit me for this, but maybe we should let him?"

She had gone very, very still, her face expressionless and cold. "You had better not mean what I think you mean."

Very quickly Draco was on the other side of the room, his hands up and at least two squashy chairs between them. She hadn't drawn her wand or moved, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"You said it yourself, the only way to get rid of the soul fragment…"

"HE IS ELEVEN!" she screeched, rising to her feet. "YOU WOULD SEND A CHILD TO HIS DEATH?"

"I know it's not ideal, but what choice…"

"NOT IDEAL? HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I SAID SCORPIUS HAD TO DIE AT VOLDEMORTS HAND?"

"MY SON IS GONE." Draco screamed back, his voice scratching the inside of his throat. A tight burning began to rise and he tried to swallow it down. "My… My Son is gone and I'll never," inhaling deeply Draco tried to keep the quiver from his voice. "But we know that Harry can survive. We've seen it before. Hermione, we have to believe he can do it again."

Tears dripped down her face as she shook her head violently, "I can't… please." She whispered softly, clamping her eyes shut, fists clenched at her sides. "Not Harry."

"It's okay, it's okay" He moved back to her and pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sorry, Hermione I'm so sorry."

"I can't let him die." She mumbled into his shoulder. "I just…"

"It's okay, we'll find another way, we've got all the time in the world after all." He clutched her tightly to his body. He knew though, that if they couldn't find a way to remove and destroy the horcrux inside the boy, that they wouldn't have a choice. Harry still might have to die.


End file.
